Twice Before Bedtime
by justlook3
Summary: In another universe, Cassandra Cillian is recruited by the Library soon after her tumor was removed. Jacob Stone is a single father raising three daughters and trying to keep his family business alive in small town Oklahoma. A simple retrieval mission brings Cassandra into Jacob's store where a case of mistaken identity sweeps her into his life.
1. Prologue--Cassandra

Hi, those of you who were reading the Bookstore series, I got a little blocked with that one and then this idea just jumped into my head. I was trying an experiment to write an entire multichapter before I posted it, so here it is. It's finished (though in need of editing) and so I will be posting it weekly. This one was inspired by way too much watching of the Hallmark Channel app. Also it's a tweaked and gender swapped version of a prompt sent to me a while ago by rogueprincessdanie. I know it's not quite what you asked for, but I hope you enjoy it!

* * *

 ** _Five years ago_**

The psychiatrist's office began to fill up with numbers, equations and colors. Soon charts and graphs followed, numbers, equations, more and more and more, spinning in overwhelming amounts. Smells and music and colors and lights, flashing in front of her. Cassandra Cillian cringed in the corner, hoping for a seizure or unconsciousness or anything. But the tumor that would have provided almost blessed relief from the hallucinations was now gone and she felt herself spinning out of control. In the distance she could hear her doctor calling her name and saying something about pi. But she couldn't call back. All she could do was sink to her knees in the corner, chanting the word "off" over and over again. Until she was sobbing and it finally, finally stopped.

"This is why," she said softly a few minutes later when she'd stopped crying. "This is why I'd like to commit myself. I've lost my mind and I can't . . . I need help."

A week later, she was sitting in a sterile office in a private institution. The doctor had explained that it was a very nice facility, the best that what was left of her trust fund could afford. She looked down at her floral skirt when she'd been left alone for a few minutes while paperwork was being brought for her. She'd probably not be wearing any of her clothes again for a very long time.

The door opened and a man walked in. He wasn't wearing a lab coat and he didn't look anything like the other people she'd met in the place. Instead he was wearing a slightly rumpled suit, sneakers and a carnation in his lapel.

"Hi, Cassandra," he said with a grin.

"Hi," she said hesitantly. "Are you another doctor?"

The man chuckled. "Well, I do hold several PhDs, so I guess you could call me a doctor. But not the kind of doctor you're thinking. I'm Flynn Carsen and I'm the Librarian."

"Why would a librarian be seeing me? Are they giving me a job while I'm here?"

"Nope," the man said sitting on the edge of the desk. "They're not, but I am. "

"I don't follow."

"You're not crazy, Cassandra Cillian, at least not any more crazy than anyone else is. You're accessing magic and I'm here to help you control it."

Cassandra shrunk back in her chair. "You're one of the patients aren't you?"

"Oh dear," Mr. Carsen said, shaking his head. "Poor thing, you're really frightened aren't you? Maybe it would be best to show you? Come with me."

"Come with you where?"

"I'm going to show you the Library. Hey, what do you have to lose? If I am a patient, then they're gonna find us, aren't they? And I'm harmless, well at least to you," the strange man who called himself the Librarian winked at her.

Cassandra shrugged. She really didn't have much to lose. And honestly she wasn't so sure she wanted to stay here if the patients just wandered into offices and no one came after them. Luckily she hadn't yet signed the papers and could leave at will.

He opened the back door of the office, which she expected to lead into a hallway. Instead, she felt like she'd tripped over a rock and landed in . . . a library?

"What? How?"

"Magic," Flynn grinned. "Well that and science. You're gonna love it here."

Cassandra looked behind her and looked around. "Magic is real?"

The Librarian grinned. "Oh yes, magic is real. Let me show you around."

* * *

Cassandra was shown some of the wonders that were held in the Library. And the Librarian explained to her that her "gift" was not a product of her tumor like she'd always believed it was.

"You were born with magical abilities. Your medical condition was actually holding you back, not enhancing them."

"But I could control it before," Cassandra sighed. "Sort of. And I can transfer thoughts. That's terrifying. So are all the visions."

"And that's why you're here. We can help you here at the Library."

"We?"

"You'll meet the others soon. Right now it's our caretaker Jenkins and our bookkeeper Charlene. But I have had assistants from time to time. Most of them have decided to go back to their lives, but they still help out occasionally. Which is what I meant by offering you a job. I'm in need of an assistant and you're in need of help with your gift. So what do you say? Wanna work at the Library?"

Cassandra beamed. "You've got yourself an assistant."

* * *

 ** _One year ago_**

"You're retiring?" Cassandra asked, her voice even more high pitched than usual.

"Well, I wouldn't call it retiring, I'm far too young for that. Let's call it a very extended leave of absence."

"He's retiring," Ezekiel Jones, who'd joined her as Library assistant the year before, said from her other side.

"But why?" Cassandra asked. "I thought you loved it here. I thought it was your home, like it's ours."

"It is my home," Flynn said, putting a hand on her shoulder and giving her a fond squeeze. "But I've been the Librarian for ten years. I've defied the odds. Librarians who get to retire are the minority, you know. I'm still young and Eve and I want to start a family. I want to devote myself to them."

"But who is going to be the Librarian?" Cassandra asked, starting to panic. Beside her Ezekiel scoffed, already a step ahead.

"You are," Flynn said. "The Library and I picked you because we knew you'd be taking over for me. You're ready Cassandra. You're the Librarian now. And I'll be around if you need me, just don't need me too much, that would be disappointing."

"And Ezekiel?"

Ezekiel scoffed. "Quite happy being the second banana thank you very much. Librarians are the ones on the firing line, assistants not so much."

Cassandra rolled her eyes at him but then sobered and looked at Flynn. "You really think I'm ready?"

"I know you are. I'm leaving the Library in good hands. Charlene is mostly retired but she'll do the books from home. You have Jenkins and Ezekiel. And like I said, if you really need me, I'll be there. Especially if you just need to talk, just don't make it every night."

"Thank you, Flynn." Cassandra said, throwing her arms around his neck. "You've done so much for me. I'm honored to be your successor."

They hugged for a moment and he gently stepped back. "You'll be just fine. I know it. Now, it's time for me to go, I have a marriage proposal to make. Try to stay alive until the wedding at least."

Cassandra and Ezekiel laughed and just like that Flynn was gone.

"Well," Cassandra clapped her hands. "Now . . . ." And the clippings book on the desk signaled a case. "I guess it's that. Let's go, assistant."


	2. Prologue--Jacob

**_Author's note: This is the second prologue. This story will have ten more chapters plus an epilogue and will be posted on Sundays_**

* * *

 ** _Five years ago_**

Jacob Stone was exhausted. His shift on his second job had been a long one and that was after a full day working at his family's store. All he wanted was something to eat, to kiss his kids (even though he knew they'd be asleep) and to collapse in bed. He sighed though as he pulled up to the house. His wife Mandy's car was not in the driveway but his mother-in-law's was. Mandy'd probably picked up an extra shift at the hospital. She'd been doing that more and more lately without really letting him know ahead of time. Strange thing about that was that the family finances never seemed to be increasing. Mandy had laughed and reminded him how much diapers were when he'd brought it up. He guessed that was the case what with the baby and all.

There was something off about the living room when Jacob entered the house but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. He found his mother-in-law in the kitchen, the kettle on. She looked nervous.

"Kids asleep?" Jacob asked, walking to the fridge. "Assuming Mandy's at work."

"Jake . . . ." Jane cleared her throat. "Come into the living room and sit down."

She took the beer out of his hands and steered him to the sofa.

"Jane, you're scarin' me. Is Mandy okay? Are the kids okay?"

"I'm real sorry, Jake," Jane said, cringing. "I can't . . . ." His mother-in-law shook her head and then handed him an envelope. "Mandy's gone, Jake. She left you this."

"What do you mean she's gone?"

"Just, just read it, okay? I'm gonna go check on the baby."

Jacob found his hands shaking as he opened the envelope. Inside was a letter, a business card for a lawyer and Mandy's latest paycheck signed over to him.

 _Jake,_

 _I can't do this anymore. We ain't been good for a long time, you know that. Having Abby was just putting a band aid on something that needed stitches. I've been lying to you for months, I ain't working extra shifts, I'm seeing someone else. We're going to California, starting over. The lawyer has the paperwork. I ain't asking for anything from you but a divorce. You can have the kids, the house, the car, everything I left. Sell them or give them to the girls. Tell the girls that . . .well tell them that they deserved better than the momma they got. And someday maybe you can give them one._

 _I'm real sorry Jake, but this is for the best._

 _Mandy._

When Jane returned, Jacob was sitting on the couch, the letter on the floor, resting his face in his hands. When he looked up at her, his eyes were red and his face just showed confusion and devastation.

"Did you know?" he asked, his voice barely working over the lump of unshed tears.

"Not the full story, not until today," Jane shook her head. "But there were signs. The extra shifts but no increase in paycheck . . . ."

Jacob scoffed bitterly. "I noticed that too, but she kept tellin' me that the money was there, it was just goin' for diapers and baby formula. Shit, Jane, this has been goin' on for months!"

Jane gave him a look for the language and he reddened slightly. "Sorry, Jane."

"Actually suppose I can't blame ya for it in this case. Oh, Jake, my daughter . . . ya know how me and Earl tried to talk ya out of marrying her?"

"Yeah, I remember. I thought you didn't like me. Which was strange because you treat me like your son now."

"It ain't about ya. We love you, Jake. But Mandy . . .Mandy's flighty. We knew talkin' her outta of it was just gonna make her dig her heels in more. But we didn't think you'd be the same. "

Jacob sighed. "Maybe I should have listened. Saved me six years of Mandy."

"But you wouldn't have them girls. And you're the one that loves 'em. I thought . . .Mandy kept havin' 'em but she never seemed like a momma. It weren't baby blues either. She just . . . ."

"That was me," Jake sighed. "Abby especially, we had her cuz I thought . . .but Mandy was happy when she was pregnant. At least with Gracie and Kait. But Abby, she was pissed at me the entire time. And she wouldn't breast feed. Told me she'd done it twice and she was through. But now I know, she didn't want her. God, Jane, what kinda woman?"

Jane shook her head. "I don't know, Jake. I love my daughter but sometimes I just don't understand her. It's like an alien took over after she turned into a teenager. "

"Did she ever love me? Us? This here paper says she didn't. And I loved her, Jane, still do. I'm a fool."

"You ain't a fool, Jacob Stone. You're a good man who did right by his wife and kids. Earl and I, we ain't gonna abandon you. You're still our son. You need us with your momma and daddy gone. Whatever you need, you've got it."

Jacob leaned back against the sofa. "I don't suppose you can bring Mandy back?"

"Do you want her back?"

He shook his head. "No, actually glad she wasn't brave enough to look me in the eye."

His father-in-law walked into the living room at that moment, carrying a bottle. "How about some whiskey then?"

"I think . . ." and he was not sure why. It might have been the kindness of his wife's parents or the whole thing finally hitting him but that offer started the tears.

And Jacob wept on Jane's shoulder and then he did a shot with Earl. He thought about drinking the bottle they left with him. But instead he went upstairs and curled up on the cot in his baby's room and fell asleep, knowing in the morning he'd have to tell his daughters that their momma was never coming home.

* * *

Telling them was the hardest thing he'd ever had to do. Abby was too young to even understand but Grace and Kaitlyn were older and full of questions. Questions that Jacob just didn't have an answer to. He did his best and devoted himself to his children, they needed him more than ever.

The divorce was as quick as possible, Jacob being awarded full custody of his children with no visitation for Mandy. He'd tracked her car down to her lover's house and he sold it along with everything she'd left in the house. He'd thought about keeping some of the jewelry for the girls, but in the end the only thing he kept were a ring that had belonged to his mother and a photo album. They needed the money more than an attachment to a woman who'd always had one foot out the door.

Especially since he'd dropped his second job and had kept at it full time in his granddad's store. He wanted to be there for the kids. Instead he picked up odd jobs around town and at night went back to his long neglected studies. No one knew that he was actually a genius. He'd given up his plans for college when his dad had died when he was fourteen. He wanted to help his momma out.

Time had flown by and he'd kept telling himself he'd get to college someday. But then his momma died. Then he'd gotten married and before he knew it, he'd had three children to support.

And now he was all alone again.

The studies late at night, now that he didn't have anyone to interrupt him, were the one thing that kept him sane. He took online courses and spent hours studying the digitized collections of hundreds of museums and libraries around the world. Learning was the only relationship he needed outside of his girls.

Mandy might have wanted him to find someone out of guilt for her own actions. But Jacob Stone was never gonna love and lose again.

 ** _One year ago_**

"You're retirin'?" Jacob asked his grandfather that morning.

"Well, son," his granddad had chuckled. "I'm 83, hardly a spring chicken any longer. You can run the store just fine without me."

"It's a huge responsibility, runnin' it on my own."

"Jake, you've basically been runnin' it these last few years. You'll do just fine. Mabel is as fine a clerk as you'll get in these parts and Miss Agnes will help ya with the books. I just want to kick back on my porch swing and enjoy my great-grandkids before I go up to be with your granny again."

Jacob smiled and assured his grandfather that he had it all under control. But secretly he was panicking. Miss Agnes' mind was not what it used to be and Jacob was hopeless when it came to the books. Mabel was indeed a fine employee. But he knew she was itching to leave small town Oklahoma, heading toward Tulsa or maybe even Dallas. Anything to get out of this town.

Jacob couldn't say he blamed her. He'd never been further from home than Tulsa but god did he ever want to. Sometimes he fantasized about packing up his girls and just driving until they found a spot they liked or ran into the ocean. But this was their home and this is where they stayed.

So he took a deep breath and asked his grandfather for any tricks he didn't already know. And as he soaked up the old man's wisdom, he repeated the mantra that had gotten him through the last four years.

 _I've got this._


	3. Chapter One

I was gonna post weekly but I realized since the story is essentially done (rewrites and editing) that it would take a while posting so I will be posting Sundays and Wednesdays.  
See if you can spot the Easter egg in this chapter!

* * *

"Seriously?" Ezekiel was grousing. "Busy work?"

"It's important work," Cassandra said. "The clippings book alerts us to serious threats and the appointment book to timely events."

Ezekiel rolled his eyes. "I know all that. And neither is going off so instead of making the most of our time off, you want to do busy work."

Cassandra rolled her eyes and went back to studying the list. It was the general list of objects that the Library wished to have in its collection. Many of them were lost or at least no one was sure where they were located now. Another group of them were in known locations but didn't pose any immediate danger or threat, usually sitting in museums or dusty attics of collectors, basically things that were passed down in a family and the present owners had no idea what they actually were. Or human nature being as it was, had laughed it off as being an old wives' tale.

"Well, you love a challenge," Cassandra said, writing a couple of objects down. "Why don't you just start trying to find these? Think of it as a treasure hunt, you like those."

Ezekiel sighed but took the list. "What are you going to do?"

Cassandra stared at the list of objects with known locations (or fairly known since it's possible they could have moved), Ezekiel couldn't see her but in her mind she was assigning them each a number and then rolling a many sided die to pick one at random.

"That one," she said pointing to one of the lists. "A Scottish charm-stone that can cure sickness and control the weather. Odd combination. Kept inside a cigar store Indian, in a small town in Oklahoma, of all places."

"A cigar store Indian? What is this, 1919? And how is a charm-stone from Scotland in Oklahoma?"

"It's a small town," Cassandra shrugged. "Probably these days in a corner of a tiny local history museum. And I'm not sure."

"Ah," Jenkins said walking over. "Those sorts of things get passed through generations. Immigration possibly brought the family to Oklahoma or the person who made the Indian carving accidentally sold the one they'd stored the stone in. Any number of reasons for its current location. What matters is locating it. These small towns are proud of their pasts, what if some volunteer gets in their heads to restore the old carving and accidentally unleashes a blizzard in the middle of May? Provided the statue wasn't destroyed long ago, that is, then Ms. Cillian should have no issues securing the charm stone without damaging the town's actual history."

"Sounds bloody boring," Ezekiel said. "Have fun in Woop Woop."

"It's not called . . . ."but Ezekiel was gone and Cassandra just rolled her eyes at his back.

Soon the backdoor landed Cassandra in downtown Wahya, Oklahoma. She'd done a little research before leaving. As was the tendency for modern small to midsize towns, most of the shopping and services were now away from downtown and nestled close to the state highway. There had been an interest in the last decade or so in revitalizing the old downtown, full of lovely turn of the 20th century buildings. There were several small shops, a bank, two restaurants, a coffee place, a library and what looked like one of the probably only original businesses, an old time general store. If she had a chance, Cassandra thought she'd poke around the store, it looked charming. But her sights were set on the low gray building that had a sign out front, "Greater Wahya Historical Museum". It wasn't going to be open much longer, so she headed inside.

* * *

"Mabel, please, I'm beggin' here. Can't you stay for another week or two?" Jacob asked his best employee, who was planning on leaving by the beginning of the next week.

She sighed, "Jacob, we've been over this. I ain't paying rent on an apartment I ain't livin' in."

He groaned. "I just dunno what I'm gonna do without ya. I ain't gonna get nobody to work here, not when they can make better wages out in the strip malls."

"You've got a few people, you'll do okay."

"I dunno know. It's . . .I tell Granddad everything is going smooth, but you know Mabel. Maybe it's time to pack it up. I got kids to feed and a failing business."

"Jacob, I don't think it's as bad as you think. I mean it's slow right now, but school's not out yet. And we're run off our feet every weekend. People love an old fashioned general store. And your family's been running this place since 1918."

Jacob shook his head. "Wish the state would send in that damn bookkeeper like I asked. What the heck was the point of all that grant paperwork when I ain't getting the help?"

Mabel shrugged. "That's the way these things go. Now I'm still here for a few days, so let me get as much done for you as I can. I'm gonna go do that inventory."

Jacob sighed but looked up at the clock hanging above the register and he smiled. His day was about to get a lot brighter. A few minutes later, two active blurs followed by their shyer little sister and their grandmother entered the store.

"Daddy!" ten year old Grace was yelling. "I won the spelling bee today!"

"You did, that's my girl!" he picked her up and twirled her around.

"I got a B on my test," eight year old Kaitlyn added, wanting her share of the affection.

"And how's my big girl?" Jacob asked, picking up little Abby who was now five. She'd always been the most withdrawn of the sisters, probably because she'd never known her mother. Mandy had never come back to Oklahoma and aside from occasional gifts at Christmas, it was like she never existed.

Abby shrugged and buried her head in his shoulder. She didn't talk much either. Jacob really wished he had more time to spend with her. But the store needed him and he had to work.

"Ya'll wanna go next door and get a cookie?" he asked, fishing his wallet out and handing their granny some cash.

The older girls were excited and even Abby smiled as her father set her down. Jane exchanged a look with him and he shook his head.

"It's okay, momma."

"Alright, c'mon you little monsters. Bring you back a coffee, Jake?"

"Yes, please ma'am."

They found Jake up in his office when they returned. The older girls were sat at the table with their homework and Abby was set up with a cartoon on her granny's tablet. Jane took a seat across from Jacob.

"Are you sure everything is alright?"

Jacob pinched the bridge of his nose. "It's Mabel leavin'. It's put me in a bit of a bind. And then the state still ain't sent the help I was supposed to have with the books."

"Ah," Jane lowered her voice. "You know Mabel's sweet on you. Maybe give her a reason to stay."

Jacob shook his head. "Momma. . . ."

"Jacob."

He sighed. "Mabel's sweet. She's a lovely girl. But I've been there done that. Ain't puttin' myself through that again. And if I ever did, it wouldn't be with someone who has one foot out the door. Mabel's been itching to fly for years. Good for her to have the chance."

"I suppose you're right. Still, those girls need a momma." Jane looked over at Abby. "Especially Abigail."

He groaned. "Look, you might be right, but I just . . . . I just can't do that to myself or them again. Alright?"

"Yes, dear. Tell you what, me and Earl will help you out best we can with the store til you get someone to replace Mabel."

"I'd appreciate that."

* * *

It had taken Cassandra all of two minutes to determine that there was no cigar store Indian in the little museum. Half the building was the town archives, but Cassandra was pretty sure that if the Indian was here it would be on display.

"You look like you're lookin' for something in particular," the older lady who was working the register in the small gift shop called to her.

"Ah, yes, I'm . . . "Cassandra bit her lip, she still wasn't good at the cover stories and she couldn't always get the Librarian spell to work for her. "I'm writing a travel article on cigar store Indians. And I'd read that Wahya had a fine example."

The woman cocked her head in thought. "That's funny. We don't have one in the museum. But actually . . . ." She jumped up and went through a door. She came back about fifteen minutes later (after Cassandra started to think she wasn't going to return and hoped no one else came in) with a photograph in a frame.

"I thought I remembered seein' one around these parts. Funny that you'd have heard of it. Used to stand outside Stone's General Store."

"Oh! I saw that when I came into town. But I don't remember an Indian."

The woman shrugged. "Jacob Stone's the owner now, his great great uncle opened the store back in 1918. If the Indian is still around, he might know where it's at."

"Okay," Cassandra said with a smile. "I'll check there. Thank you so much ma'am. You've been very helpful."

Feeling slightly bad about the woman having to dig for the photo, Cassandra bought a pencil and a notepad in the gift shop, something small enough to put in her bag.

Then she headed across the street to the general store. The place was like stepping back in time. The merchandise was modern, though there was some old fashioned stuff here and there, probably for weekend tourists. There was a small supply of grocery staples, even a freezer section, clothing, books, music, small appliances, household goods, candy, greeting cards and that was just what she could see when she walked in. She assumed there was at the very least, seeds and feed too.

As she walked up to the old fashioned counter, she had a flight of fancy about buying a pound of coffee and a card of buttons just like in some old book. She probably could buy a pound of coffee, though she wasn't sure how buttons were even sold. She looked down and had to laugh, the display case in front of her held cellular phones and at eye level was a rack of brochures advertising the various carriers. A reminder that it was definitely not 1919.

Two young children came flying out an employee door followed by a man a couple of years older than herself.

"Grace and Kaitlyn, what have I told ya about runnin'!"

"Sorry, Daddy," the children chorused, barely noticing her and Cassandra noticed, not really stopping in their running over to the small toy area.

"I'm real sorry about them," the man said. "What can I help you with ma'am?"

Inside Cassandra giggled, all this ma'am stuff. But that's the way it was around here.

"Actually I'm the Librarian and I . . . ."

She barely finished her speech when the man's face broke into a relieved smile. "Oh thank god, you're the bookkeeper the state was sendin'. Not a moment too soon! I thought ya'll weren't ever gonna show. I'm Jacob Stone."

"Cassandra Cillian and I . . . ."

Cassandra didn't really get a word in, as he was ushering her to the back. Poor man, he looked really desperate. Well, she always did like looking at accounts, her math brain kicking into gear. It wasn't like the stone was going anywhere. She could help him out for a while.

He lead her to the desk and she spotted against the wall on the right, a dusty cigar store Indian. She inwardly fist pumped.

"Is that a cigar store Indian? I'm um interested in them."

"Oh that?" Jacob shrugged. "Yeah, used to sit out front, but we're part Cherokee us Stones and never did sit right. But it is from 1919 so I couldn't quite part with it, bit of a history . . . ." he cleared his throat as if he'd said something he shouldn't have. "Anyway, I've been in a real bind since my granddad retired last year. Miss Agnes wasn't that good with the books and I'm hopeless with them. I've been waiting six months since I got that grant. And I'm afraid we're in dire straits if no one helps us."

Cassandra hesitated. Really, she should get him out of the room under the pretense of working on the books, take the stone and call Jenkins. But she thought of the two little girls out in the store (and noticed another little girl in a picture on Mr. Stone's desk) and the desperation in the owner's voice. Helping people, that was part of her job wasn't it? And she was good at this, it wouldn't take her very long.

Her eyes widened when she actually got a look at the books.

He looked at her, his eyes pleading and she knew she couldn't leave. That stone had been sitting inside that Indian for maybe a hundred years untouched. It could wait a few hours . . .or days.

"I'll see what I can do," Cassandra said, taking a seat.

"Thank you so much."

Jacob left and Cassandra cast a glance at the Indian again. But then she looked down at the book in front of her and her gift started twitching.

"Alright, I know you want to do this." She grinned. "On."


	4. Chapter Two

Jenkins was feeling out of sorts that afternoon. He had yet to hear from the Librarian and it was bothering him. He wasn't sure why exactly, after all it had only been a few hours since she'd departed for Oklahoma. He scoffed, Mr. Carsen sometimes had gone for days without contact and he'd come to expect that.

But the new Librarian was a horse of a different color entirely. Ms. Cillian was very organized, punctual and frequently in touch. At first it seemed far, far too much, it was simply unnecessary for her to call as often as she did. But as the months went by, he'd come to expect that. And now that she was acting seemingly out of character, Jenkins did worry.

This was a simple retrieval job. The only trouble the Librarian might have run into was in the location of the Indian. If the Indian had been destroyed years ago, she would have returned by now. If larceny was needed to retrieve the stone (for example from a closed museum), then Ms. Cillian would have called asking for Mr. Jones. And if she was so foolish as to have been caught by a small town sheriff breaking and entering, she certainly would have called.

He couldn't imagine that too many magical threats surrounded Wahya, Oklahoma. The stone was on the general list, which meant that it had not been active for many years. It was likely that no one alive even knew that the statue had anything inside of it in the first place.

No, he sincerely doubted the Librarian had encountered anything of the sort there. He sighed, rolling his eyes at himself and feeling foolish for the worry. He'd never worried about previous Librarians for being out of contact for a few hours. And Librarians as a rule were prone to distractions. Be it a fascinating photograph collection or a series of caves for exploration or the county's best pie. He chuckled, given Ms. Cillian's interesting fashion sense, she'd probably been distracted by a vintage shop and would be coming home shortly with the stone and a few shopping bags. It wouldn't be the first time. Mr. Carsen used to come back with food. And he shuddered to think about what young Mr. Jones would be bringing back. . . .

Still after another hour passed, Jenkins found himself picking up the phone. He heard a muttered "off," then Cassandra's bright voice, "Hello, Mr. Jenkins. What can I do for you?"

"I was inquiring as to how the retrieval was going."

"Oh, that," she said, he could hear some scribbling. "I've already got that done."

"If that is the case, then why have you failed to return?"

"The stone isn't immediately dangerous is it?" she asked. " The owner had the Indian propped up in the corner of his office. It hasn't stood out front since the 80s and I don't think they even knew anything was in it."

"No, it is not, but what may I ask are you doing?"

"Oh," Cassandra's voice sounded sheepish. "You know how we meet someone and do that 'I'm the Librarian' thing and the person we're talking to thinks we belong?"

"Is this leading somewhere, Ms. Cillian?"

"Oh, anyway, the owner, Mr. Stone, well he thinks I'm the bookkeeper the state promised to send him. And Jenkins, his books are a mess. Goodness. This poor man. And he has three kids and he's been making me tea and I don't think the kids have a mom cuz there's no pictures of her in here and . . . ."

Jenkins pinched the bridge of his nose. "So you'll just doing the books then?"

"Yes, you know, I can't resist a challenge. And believe me, this is a challenge. The stone is safely with me, I promise, I went over and got it an hour ago."

Jenkins sighed. "Very well. Please keep in touch, won't you?"

"I missed you too, Mr. Jenkins."

Jenkins huffed. "I will be in contact if you are needed at the Library while you are playing bookkeeper."

"Thank you and thanks for checking on me."

Jenkins hung up and shook his head. This was certainly different. But it had been quiet and maybe it would do Ms. Cillian some good to spend time with other people. He enjoyed the solitary life and so did Mr. Jones. But the Librarian was a different creature. She would have been a social butterfly if her life had been different. First her health, then her inability to control her magical abilities, then her job with the Library had robbed her of chances to be with people. So he shrugged and let it go. With her gone and Mr. Jones off treasure hunting, he would have some precious moments of peace and quiet. And with that happy thought, he was off to make tea.

* * *

Cassandra sighed as she looked at the figures. This was not good. She was missing some data though and she was going to have to ask Mr. Stone for more information. She also looked at the time on her phone, Jenkins was going to have a fit and she was getting hungry. She needed to get back to the Library soon.

She heard a little noise and almost gasped when she met a pair of blue eyes staring somberly at her over the edge of the desk. The little girl barely made it over the edge, all Cassandra could see were curls and eyes.

"Well hello there," she said. "I didn't meet you earlier."

The child just stared at her for a couple of more minutes. Cassandra bit her lip, she really wasn't used to talking to children and she wasn't quite sure why the child was just staring.

"I'm Cassandra, what's your name?"

"Abby," the girl said in a voice above a whisper. Then she quickly looked away.

 _Shy_ thought Cassandra.

Then the girl looked back at her and blurted, "you're pretty," then turned red like it was the bravest thing she'd done all day.

Cassandra smiled softly, "thank you very much, Abby. You're pretty too."

Abby giggled a little and took a deep breath, like she was being very brave. She walked around the edge of the desk. "Whatcha doing?"

Given the eyes were identical to the man who owned the store and the fact that the girl was in the back, Cassandra figured it was a safe guess that she was one of the Stone children. "I'm helping your daddy with some math."

Abby nodded, eyes wide. "Daddy needs help with math. He always has our granny help Gracie with her homework. My teacher says I'm gonna be good with math though!"

"I bet you'll be the one helping your sisters with their homework," Cassandra said smiling.

Abby nodded. "I'm smart!"

Jacob stood in the doorway, watching, his mouth partly open. He had seen Abby wander in the back and had intended to usher her out and let Ms. Cillian get back to work. But he'd not seen Abby, who was now counting to 100 by tens to Cassandra, warm up that fast to a stranger. Hell, she had trouble warming up to people she'd known her whole life. But the bookkeeper had work to do, so he came in.

"Abby, you gotta let Ms. Cillian do her job."

"Oh, she's no bother at all. I love to meet another girl who loves math." Cassandra smiled. "But actually I do need to talk to your daddy about something. How about I see you tomorrow?"

"Okay! Bye Cassandra!" And she skipped out of the room.

"I'm sorry about that. But, to be honest, she's not good with strangers, so I kinda let her talk to you longer than I should've. I hope she didn't bother you."

Cassandra shook her head. "Not at all. I honestly needed to talk to you before I went further anyway."

He groaned, taking a seat across from her. "It's bad news, ain't it?"

Cassandra took a deep breath. "Well, I can't say for certain. I'm missing a big chunk of last year's records. And actually the first quarter of this year is dicey. Would you have copies somewhere?"

"I can call on Miss Agnes first thing in the morning. I might have this years at home. Would it trouble you to come back tomorrow?"

"Not at all, I'm available for a few days."

"Ah, staying at the hotel in the next town?"

"Yes, exactly. And I should be getting going actually. See you around 9 tomorrow?"

"Ten would be better. If that's alright?"

"Until then."

"I'd walk you out but . . . ."

Jacob was interrupted by a dark haired woman poking her head in the room. "Jacob? Mr. Miller is here and I can't lift those bags to help him get them in his truck."

"I'll be right there, Mabel. Thanks."

"Duty calls, I'll see you tomorrow."

"No problem," Cassandra said.

As soon as he was safely gone, she texted Jenkins and stepped through a nearby closet door back into the Library.

* * *

"Where's Ezekiel?" Cassandra asked when Jenkins had returned from putting the stone away.

"Out for dinner, probably won't be back this evening. Ms. Cillian . . . ."

"Jenkins, it's alright. Isn't helping people part of the job?"

Jenkins smiled fondly at her. "Ah, Mr. Jones scoffs at your kindness but Mr. Carsen and I always thought it was an asset. Honestly, I suppose it won't hurt anyone for you to help out for a few days. Might do you some good to get out into the world."

"Though," Cassandra sighed. "I don't know how much help I'm gonna be." She shook her head. "His business isn't doing so well. And it's a shame. Ninety-nine years in business and I don't think they'll make it to one hundred unless I can find some magical solution in the missing paperwork he's trying to find for me."

Jenkins shook his head. "That is a shame," he patted her shoulder. "Though if anyone can find a solution, I daresay it would be you."

Then he disappeared towards his quarters. Cassandra gathered her things. She was going to need dinner and sleep.


	5. Chapter Three

It was, Jacob reflected, a bit of a nuisance having his office invaded. But it really couldn't be helped and she sure was a pretty invasion. He shook his head at himself. Well, there was no harm in appreciating beauty, he supposed, especially when he was so inclined to the artistic. But he didn't know anything about her and she was a professional. A beautiful, very nice, sweet, kind professional, but a professional none the less. Still he let himself appreciate the way the light coming through his office window lit her hair as he walked in that afternoon.

The frown on her face though snapped him out of all thoughts of art and beauty.

"I don't like that look," he said.

She shook her head, her voice sad. "You might want to sit down, Mr. Stone."

"That bad?"

"It's pretty bad. The good news is, you're completely up to date with your taxes. So that's one worry you don't have. You might actually be owed a small amount, but unfortunately that's not really going to help."

"Well, I suppose not worrying about Uncle Sam coming after me is a relief."

"And your family owns the building outright. So that's another positive. But honestly, Mr. Stone, you're pretty deep in debt regardless of the positives. You have an employee leaving soon, if you don't replace her, that's a bit more money you can pull from. But . . ." she looked at his face and at the photos on the desk. "With your children, I don't see not filling the position as an option, you don't have that much staff to begin with."

He sighed. "How long do I have?"

"At the current rate? You'll be lucky to stay open six months." Cassandra winced as she said it. "Gosh, I really really hated saying that, Mr. Stone."

"Jacob," he said softly. "Sorry, if you're gonna give me bad news, it feels a little less clinical if you use my first name."

Cassandra flashed back to her life with a brain tumor and nodded her head. "Yeah, been there."

"Is there anything . . .anything at all that can be done?"

Cassandra met his blue eyes across the desk. In the past five years, she'd seen that same look on many different faces: a mixture of hope, faith and pleading. _You can save us right? You can fix this right?_ All of those faces looking toward her and Flynn, trusting in the Librarian to get them out of a dilemma caused by magic. There was nothing supernatural about this particular issue. It was as mundane and human as could be. But the look on Jacob Stone's face was the same. _Can you save my business? Can you keep me from going home to my girls and telling them that daddy lost their future?_ This was more than a business to Jacob Stone, this was his blood and his life, his past and his future. And even though she knew she really had to go back to the Library and saving the world, she made the decision that first she was going to try to save this man's world.

"On," she whispered.

As numbers and charts danced around her head, she could faintly make out a voice, increasing in concern until finally she heard, "Ms. Cillian! Ms. Cillian! Cassandra!"

"Off," she muttered and looked over at him. Then she realized what she'd done in front of him and flushed. She was used to Flynn, Jenkins and Ezekiel who knew what she was doing. The occasional stranger was usually too scared to notice. But in a normal situation it probably looked very odd.

"Sorry, I was thinking. I believe I can help, but you're going to have to do a few things you might not actually like."

Jacob nodded, taking a deep breath. "I understand. I probably won't but Ms. Cillian . . . ."

"Cassandra," she smiled. "First names now, Jacob."

"Cassandra, this here store's been in my family since 1918, actually before because my great-great uncle had a small place up the road first. Nearly a hundred years, and four generations of Stones. I don't know if my girls will want it, but I want to leave them the option someday to be the fifth. This is why I . . . .well, anyway, this place is my blood."

" I understand, I really do," Cassandra thought about the Library and how it had become her life. "Wait, you said your uncle had a place before this one?"

"Yeah, at least a year, why?"

"Adding it to my list of ideas, the store in this location isn't a hundred yet, but we could do a hundred years of Stone's General Store event. That kind of thing brings in the tourists and I'm gathering from the type of shops down here, you have a fair bit of weekend tourist traffic?"

He nodded. "Yeah, especially this time of year when the weather's nice and not too hot."

"Okay, well, I'm gonna guess your kids will be coming in from school in a few minutes. So you go get ready and I'm gonna make a phone call to my boss and tell him I'll be here a little longer," she grinned at him. "And get yelled at probably."

"Is that a problem?"

She waved her hand. "Eh, Mr. Jenkins is all bark and no bite. Then I'm going to work on this list of recommendations for you. "

"Thank you, Cassandra, I can't tell you how much this means to me."

"It's what I do," Cassandra smiled. After he left, she sighed. This was a whole new game for her. What she did for her normal job, well what they tried worked most of the time. They had a few failures here and there, all Librarians did, which is why the appointment book existed, as an attempt at a redo. But saving this business was up there in risk. Her math was correct in terms of reward, her math always was. But as she'd learned over the course of these five years, math couldn't always account for the human factor.

Then she grabbed her phone and dialed Jenkins.

* * *

Cassandra knew she should have been working. The faster she got the recommendations to Jacob, the sooner she could be back at the Library and her life. But little Abby had wanted to color and Cassandra had a weakness for coloring books. She was quite sure it all stemmed from her synesthesia but she just couldn't resist. And for the most part, little kids also didn't care if she colored something differently than anyone else. Eve's nephew was a bit particular about coloring, but then she'd pointed out something he was adamant was green that most people thought was blue and he let her color how she pleased.

Abby's coloring pages were Sesame Street and number themed. Sesame Street was a guilty pleasure of Cassandra's from her early tumor years, there had been something comforting about the show and she was happy to see the familiar Muppet faces. She noticed something else, Abby used the same colors for the same numbers. Now that didn't necessarily mean she associated a color with them. She might be particular like Eve's nephew or the kind of child who liked a sense of order. A neighbor's daughter was that way. Once she decided on a color for say a flower, all the flowers in the picture were the same color. And since each page featured a different number, Cassandra couldn't really make the call from just that example as to what kind of child Abby was.

Other than being incredibly charming. The whole family was. The older girls were a bit mischievous. They were bright and funny, but they also were a little out of control. Cassandra figured they were bright enough to realize their father was being pulled in too many directions and were using it to their advantage. They weren't bad kids, just bright and in need of structure. Their dad was a good man, incredibly charming, kind and she had a feeling more intelligent than anyone actually knew. But he was overwhelmed and it was obvious. She hoped she could at least take one burden off his shoulders.

She wondered, not for the first time, where their mother was. There were no photos of her on Jacob's desk and he didn't wear a ring. There certainly was no woman other than their grandmother coming in and rounding them up for homework or meals.

She shook her head at herself and picked up a crayon. This was none of her business. She was here to give Jacob some recommendations that hopefully would work and tonight she was going back to her life at the Library.

Saving the world once a week. Twice before Friday. It was the life that she chose.

Even if just once in a while, she wouldn't mind just sitting there coloring.

* * *

"I'm so sorry," Jacob said as he came in around 5 to find Abby now perched on Cassandra's lap, crayons everywhere. "I had some feed customers come in and I lost track of her."

Cassandra laughed. "It's no big deal. I love coloring and Abby and I were having a great time."

"She really likes you," Jacob said, a bit of a sad smile on his face. Then it changed to a brighter one for his daughter. "Okay, my little artist, it's dinner time."

"Oh gosh," Cassandra said. "And I never have gone over these recommendations with you. Do you want to meet tomorrow morning?"

Jacob bit his lip. "I usually go home and have dinner with the kids, but their granny was gonna feed them tonight. Mabel said she'd cover dinner shift, would you mind a workin' dinner? We can go down the street."

"Only if I pay," Cassandra said. "I'll put it on the expense account." She giggled to herself, thinking of Jenkins' annoyance about that.

"Sounds fair, let me get the girls seen off and I'll be right back."

 _Dinner. Oh boy. Was that going a step too far?_ Especially given that she had planned on giving him this stack of recommendations, wishing him luck and going back to the Library.

She felt like dinner was just prolonging things. That maybe she was making excuses not to leave. Nonsense, both of them needed to eat, it totally made sense to combine food with their remaining business. She'd still give him that stack of papers and they'd go back to their lives.

Back to her life in her weird, wonderful amazing Library where all sorts of wonderful things still remained for her to explore. Where magical creatures came for help or to seek out refuge from the world. The base of operations for missions that quite literally saved the world.

That was her place and her life. Her life was there. And not here in this charming store where children dashed in and out and a handsome owner brought her cookies and tea made just how she liked it.

Just dinner and then back to her life. _Back to her life_. And despite her internal pep talk, Cassandra knew deep down why she sighed.


	6. Chapter Four

Cassandra was in the ladies' room touching up her makeup and fluffing her hair. She wasn't sure why exactly she was primping. As she'd told herself before, this was work. Apparently something that normal working people did. She laughed at herself, she'd never had a job with working meals or formal meetings. In the years between leaving her parents' house and her surgery, she'd done a variety of things, mostly cleaning because she'd not had to interact so much with people. And being an assistant and then a Librarian at the Library was certainly nothing close to normal. But Jacob Stone thought she was a bookkeeper so that was the part she'd play.

Jacob Stone. He was handsome and so sweet. She'd only known him the two days but she could tell beneath that harried father and store owner there were hidden depths. If she actually was an Oklahoman bookkeeper she might enjoy getting to know him better. It had been a while since she'd been on a real date. She'd barely dated at all pre-surgery, her condition making it far easier to avoid relationships or keep them super casual. And she'd been just past recovery when Flynn had found her.

Life in the Library made relationships difficult. Flynn had encouraged her to date and she'd dated a few people. But it was hard and it was hard not to keep to old habits of super casual. Besides, it was hard to explain to the person she was dating when she had to keep cancelling plans. Flynn had had the same problem until he'd met Eve Baird. Eve was military with a schedule even weirder than Flynn's. She'd eventually found out about the Library when Flynn needed her help on a mission. She'd been surprisingly understanding (again probably because her job was weird) and she and Flynn had found happiness together. Now they were both retired, living a life of domestic adventure with a baby on the way.

But military types weren't really Cassandra's. So she'd have to find someone smart, quiet and bookish who had a weird life. She cackled at herself in the mirror. _Yeah, that had worked out so well so far._

She was blotting her lipstick when the pretty dark haired clerk walked in. They'd been introduced briefly and Cassandra knew her name was Mabel and she was leaving the store soon to move to Tulsa.

"Hi, Cassandra. Jake says you guys are gettin' dinner? Then I reckon you're off."

"Yeah," Cassandra sighed. "In the morning, I guess. Work never stops. I do hope my recommendations help, this store is wonderful and places like this should be saved."

Mabel smiled. "I'm sure gonna miss it, but I've gotta move on or I'll miss my chance."

Cassandra chuckled. "Know a little something about that."

"You're not from here, I mean Oklahoma are you?"

"No, I'm from back East. Just kinda needed to well, you know," she flapped her hands. "Ended up here." That was close to the truth, really.

"That was my thought too. I might come back, but I'd regret it if I didn't at least try. I mean I've got roots here like Jake, but I don't know, he just always wanted to stay."

"Is that why you and he?" Cassandra blushed. "Sorry, I'm prying."

Mabel giggled. "Oh, I wouldn't have minded, Jacob is as nice a man as you're ever gonna meet. And we grew up together but we always ended up with different people. He got married and then when that fell apart, well he's not dated since. And I know he wants someone who isn't gonna leave. And that's not really me. Not now."

"I'm prying again, but what is the story there? He has the kids all alone?"

Mabel made a face. "Yeah, I mean everyone knows it. Mandy was a flake and that's the nicest way to put it. He never should've married her, but the more people told him he was makin' a mistake, the more he dug his heels in and went for her anyway. She got pregnant real quick with the first two and that was fine but then Abby . . . ."

"Abby?"

"I dunno. All I know is that the minute she was back from maternity leave with her, she was stepping out on Jake. She ran off with the guy she was seeing when Abby wasn't even a year. Poor Jake got a Dear John and she ain't been back to see any of 'em."

"Wow," Cassandra said, thinking that explained a lot about Abby. And now she felt even more guilty about leaving, given how Abby was warming up to her. "No wonder he hasn't dated."

"Yeah, don't blame the guy. He's not likely to find someone who wants to settle in a small town with a man with a bunch of kids either. All the girls our age are married, divorced with their own flock or left. Anyway," Mabel headed toward a stall. "It has been nice havin' ya, Cassandra. Hope it goes well."

"Yeah, thanks Mabel," and Cassandra left the restroom to give the other woman privacy.

* * *

There were two choices for dinner within walking distance of the store and Jacob chose the beer and burger place over the family restaurant.

"This early it'll be quieter there, the other place will be packed with kids."

Cassandra stuck to water with her burger and Jacob sighing, ordered an iced tea.

"I could use a beer, but I've gotta get back to work tonight."

Cassandra slid a few pieces of paper across to him. "These are my recommendations, keeping in mind that I'm just a math person and I don't know a lot about retail. These were completely based upon your numbers and a little bit of my experience as a shopper."

He nodded, peering down the page. "You're askin' me to cut inventory?"

"Hear me out," Cassandra said softly. "I know it's a general store. And I'm not asking you to completely cater to tourists either. Your biggest local business is in the feed and seed section. So obviously you're gonna want to keep that. But stuff like the groceries and the cell phones? The locals are getting that from the big box and grocery stores by the highway and the tourists aren't looking to buy the same thing they can get at home. You're spending money on items not selling. I'd suggest instead to keep the old fashioned candy and maybe look to sell locally made items." Cassandra shrugged. "I'm not exactly sure what you would have here, but maybe honey or jam? That sort of thing. Locally made products are big with both the locals and tourists. "

"I see what you're sayin'. But that freezer unit is fairly expensive."

"Well, you could probably make some money selling it. If you wanted to keep it, it would come in handy in the summer time for selling individual ice cream bars and things. Again that would drawn in the tourists as well as the people shopping or working down here who want to grab a quick treat. Not sure what you could do with it the rest of the year, though let's face it, kids like ice cream no matter what. And I don't know, maybe there's some local making sausage or something."

Jacob chuckled. "I sense a trend here."

"Well, this is just my gut as someone who likes to shop," Cassandra shrugged. "The buy local trend is big right now, everywhere. Tourists love bringing something back that they can't get anywhere else. And locals want to support their neighbors and anything that keeps jobs in town. Your store is unique and historic. Let's focus on that uniqueness. Stuff that people can't get on the other side of town, stuff they want to come out here for."

Their food came they took a break to eat, mostly chatting about the kids instead of work.

"I'm still real sorry about Abby. But she's so slow to warm up to people, I didn't want to mess up a potential thaw."

"It's fine, really. She's very sweet. All of your daughters are."

Jacob sighed. "They are, but they probably aren't the best behaved kids out there. I try my best, but I've got a lot on their plate."

"All you can do is your best," Cassandra said, "I'm sure it's not easy."

"None of your own?" he asked.

"No, I never really had any offers."

"Well, that's shame, a woman like you? Should have folks bangin' down your door to take you out." Jacob's smile was flirtatious until Cassandra blushed and looked away. Then he cleared his throat. He really had no idea what had come over him. In another life, Cassandra Cillian might have been a possibility. But not in this one, where he had a life that included three motherless young girls.

He took a big gulp of his iced tea and turned back to the sheet of figures. He asked her a couple of other questions, although he really thought her recommendations were sound. Then he got to the end.

"Lordy, Cassie," he said, not even realizing he'd nicknamed her in his astonishment at what she'd written. "This is a pretty detailed event you've got there."

"I might have gotten a bit carried away. I love planning parties. You don't have to follow any of that."

He sighed. "I'd love to follow it, it sounds amazing. But I just can't. Mabel'll be gone and I can't be askin' my ex-in-laws to be doin' this sort of thing. Damn, I wish I did know someone who could do this. Because I think it would turn things around for us."

Cassandra stared at him across the table. Her life before the Library had been divided into two. Before the tumor, she'd let her parents dictate everything she'd done in her life. With the tumor, she'd let her health dictate everything. Then there was her life in the Library. Sure she'd done the first impulsive thing she'd ever done when she took the job. But afterward, there was the clippings book and the appointment book and lists and duties. She absolutely adored her job, but again it dictated her life.

So she took a deep breath, knowing Jenkins would be disappointed but Ezekiel wouldn't be. And said, "I'll stay and help you do it."


	7. Chapter Five

The next day when she returned to Oklahoma, she hadn't seen Jenkins at all. Her personal clippings book remained silent and from her phone it seemed like the main clippings book was as well. This was not unusual. During her time with Flynn, there had been stretches of months sometimes with no urgent cases. The two of them always found things to do, however. The appointment book, the general list, working with her gift and for Flynn lectures and presentations. Not to mention general Library work, sword fighting lessons with Cal and a hundred and one other little things. In this case, Cassandra was filling her time helping the Stones.

The day went by, the only word from the Library being some teasing texts from Ezekiel about why she was helping Jacob soon eclipsed by boastful texts about how well his treasure hunt was going.

Meanwhile, Cassandra found herself that day out of Jacob's office and walking the store, visualizing better placement of items. Jacob had no way of knowing that while she looked simply lost in thought, her brain was supplying her with marketing data, sales and store flow. Over the past five years, she and Flynn had worked extensively with her gift, now she could use it without getting overwhelmed and she had strict control over the thought transference aspect. She only used that in dire emergencies and only with other Library staff who knew what was going on. She'd never used her gift before for a retail application and it was actually fun juggling what ifs.

Jacob was impressed with her knowledge but it was she who was impressed when he sketched out her ideas on paper.

"You're really talented!" she exclaimed as they poured over the diagram in his office.

"Yeah, well . . . ." he came very close to blushing, then shrugged it off. "It's a hobby."

"Right," Cassandra sensed his discomfort, though she couldn't figure out for the life of her why he would be. "Anyway, what do you think?"

He nodded. "It helped to have a visual of what you were saying. I like it, some of it reminds me of how it looked when I was a kid."

"I did take some cues from the photos," Cassandra pointed to a few hung on the walls. "I thought about how it would work today. Oddly enough, most of it did."

He grinned at her. "Nice. Funny ain't it?"

"What?"

"Well usually in these kinds of things, the modern way of doin' stuff is better. And I was following stuff I learned in an online course on store flow. But I think I cluttered it up tryin' everything and anything in here. Turns out, old way's best."

She chuckled. "Well, not entirely. Old way with a new spin. You weren't completely off track either. But nostalgia sells and in any era simplicity is the key."

"That's Cassandra Cillian for keep it simple stupid, ain't it?"

She laughed, "I didn't say that. But maybe."

"It's okay, Cassie, I like you because you've told it to me straight from the start."

"Well, I've hoped I had better news, but I'm really hoping all of this will help."

"Which reminds me, I asked my granddad and in turns out, the old shop opened this month in 1918. The lady at the historical society said it looks like it was around the 15th."

"So in two weeks give or take."

"Can you stay that long?"

Cassandra sighed. "Probably not. But if we can throw this together in a week . . . ."

"That's a tall order, Cassie."

"We can do this, Jacob. I know we can. The people who come in here seem to love you and this store. We can get as many of them to help as we can. Just a bit of faith and some elbow grease and we can do this."

"Alright," Jacob's tone was skeptical. "Wish we had a magic wand."

Cassandra laughed, but it sounded a little forced to Jacob's ears, which was weird. "Yeah, if only."

"Are you okay?" he asked as the tone changed.

"Hmm, oh I'm fine, I just am on my to do list. I need to make a phone call."

"Alright, well I gotta get back up front, let me know what you need me to do."

Soon as he was gone, she dialed Ezekiel. "Hey, put off the treasure hunt for a bit. I need a whole bunch of favors. . . .yes the next three pizzas worth."

* * *

Thanks to Ezekiel's "connections," she had ads going out in both the weekly local paper and in the Sunday and next Wednesday's editions of the daily paper in the larger nearby town. The neighboring town was big enough to have a television station and she'd made some inquiries there, hoping that they would do a local interest story. The news producer seemed interested, so she kept her fingers crossed. The store's website was nice, but long neglected, so she had Ezekiel doing an overhaul as well as updating their sporadic social media postings. She'd also emailed information to a host of parenting blogs, the local chamber of commerce and any and every travel and tourism site or listing she could find.

She and Jacob had talked to his few staff members and Mabel knew the members of a local band. She was talking to them about playing for store credit. Cassandra had gone over to the public library and managed to sweet talk the children's librarian into doing some things with the kids. It also turned out that the library had a list of high school students who needed service hours that could help with setup and face painting. Cassandra nearly hugged her, she hadn't thought of the area high school at all. But then again, she'd only spent two years in high school before she'd dropped out.

There really was only so much room in the budget so Cassandra was relying heavily on the hopes that Jacob and his family and staff had enough connections in town to get people to volunteer their services or take store credit or take it as free advertising.

The Library had a decorations room, so if push came to shove, Cassandra was going to raid it.

There was a lot to be done so she and Jacob were working all day, between planning for the event, reorganizing the store and in Jacob's case, waiting on customers.

Before either of them knew it, it was five o'clock.

"Hey," he said poking his head in the office. "It's five o'clock. It's Wednesday so we close in an hour."

"Oh," Cassandra said. "Wow, time flew by."

Jacob shuffled his feet. "I was wonderin', if you don't have plans tonight. . . ."

Cassandra chuckled. "I don't," which was the complete truth. All she would be doing tonight was eating leftover takeout from Monday night and flipping through tv stations.

He was adorably awkward about it, rubbing the back of his neck before nervously running a hand through his hair. "My . . .kid's grandparents invited us over for dinner tonight and they'd like to have you over. If you don't mind?"

Cassandra had met the grandmother Jane when the girls had come in. The kids hadn't come to the store today at all and she did miss them.

"Sure, sounds fun," then a huge problem dawned on her. Last night, Jacob had intended on walking her to her car but Mabel had needed his help and she'd slipped away. How the heck was she gonna deal with this tonight? Tomorrow she was gonna have to figure out where to rent a car and go from there. Ah, rentals! Perfect. "Oh, gosh, you might be able to solve my problem anyway."

"Problem?"

"Yeah, I rented a car this trip because my car had to have some work done. Of course, don't you know it, today, the darn rental wouldn't start. The rental place gave me a ride here this morning and they were gonna deliver me a new rental in the morning. Of course, I totally lost track of time and I'm not sure I can get a ride back to the hotel. Would it be too much trouble for you to take me? I know it's 20 minutes and you got the kids."

"Nah, it'll be fine, by the time dinner's over it'll only take 15," he winked at her.

"Then that's all settled then," Cassandra looked at her phone. "I'm gonna see if the office is open over at the rental agency to see how the whole car situation is going and let you get the closing stuff done."

Cassandra had, as soon as Jacob assumed she was in a hotel, researched a hotel location just in case it was needed. There was a Holiday Inn Express in the next town perfect for her cover. She opened the Back Door app that Ezekiel had recently developed and entered in the coordinates for the front office (intending on telling Jacob she had a package to pick up at the front desk).

Then she looked up car rental agencies. There was a branch of a national chain in the neighboring town, not far from the hotel, she reserved a car for a week, she'd pick it up in the morning.

She sighed to herself, so much effort for someone she'd never seen again. Part of her thought of coming clean, but it was always a tricky thing. Even when people were directly affected by magic didn't quite know who she was or what she did. Heck, magic could be happening to them and they still tried to explain it as something else, modern humans being as they are. How would Jacob Stone react to a magic door? Or even the reason why she'd posed as a bookkeeper in the first place?

No, it was far easier for him to believe she was a state employee. Especially since said employee had yet to show. And when he or she did, well Cassandra would be long gone.

Even if it bothered her that eventually that truth would come out and Jacob and his daughters' lasting impression of her would be as a fraud.


	8. Chapter Six

As Cassandra had suspected, Earl and Jane were Mandy's parents. They'd basically adopted him after Mandy left, his own parents having passed on. Apparently her relationship with her parents was about as non-existent as her relationship with her children. Cassandra didn't know the whole story, but oddly enough she felt a little sorry for the woman, she was missing out on some pretty fantastic people.

She was in the kitchen with Jane, making coffee and dishing out dessert.

"Thank you for having me," Cassandra said with a smile. "It's been so long since I've had a home cooked meal." Which was the absolute truth, her life was a bit lonely and she wasn't much of a cook.

"It's the least we could do for someone who is helping Jake out like you are. Above and beyond by the way he tells it."

Cassandra blushed. "Well, the store is his life and I just couldn't not help, you know? Not when faced with that."

Jane shook her head sadly. "That store is his life, that's for sure."

Cassandra couldn't help herself, she always was too nosy for her own good. "I sense a but."

"It ain't his heart," Jane said, looking through to the living room where Jacob was playing with his daughters. "Look at how he is with them. They are his heart. Does he look like that in the store?"

Cassandra stood considering. She'd only known the man for three days, yet there was a connection there, the reason why she'd stayed, it had always been more than her desire to help. Jane was onto something, because even though Jacob had begged her, **begged** her for her help, the only time she'd seem him alive like that (when the girls weren't around) was when . . . .

"He drew me a sketch of some ideas I had for the store. Amazing work. He looked like that then, when I praised him. But only for a moment and then he wanted to change the subject."

"I've known Jacob Stone since he was a boy, I was friends with his momma. He's not. . .he's not like the other men here. He's a genius, ain't common knowledge, so don't let on that I told you."

Cassandra had a certain feeling that Jane was matchmaking, but oddly she didn't mind like she should have. Especially when it lent an air of intrigue to a man she was already drawn to.

"That explains Abby, doesn't it?"

Jane nodded. "Yep. The other girls are very bright, sharp actually."

"Yeah, noticed that too," Cassandra said. "I think you know that they've figured out how to get away with things with him."

Jane nodded. "Yep. But Abby, she's like her daddy. But my daughter . . . ." Jane frowned, pain flashing across her face. "Abby was only nine months old when she left. She never knew her. That scars a child."

"Poor thing, it's hard being different. I know in more than one way."

"I figured you was a genius too. That's why I told you."

"And it wouldn't be because you were matchmaking just a little?" Cassandra said with a teasing grin.

"It's a momma's right. Besides, you don't seem offended. Mabel's sweet on him, but that ain't goin' anywhere. And so . . . ."

Cassandra giggled. "You know, Mabel may be sweet on him, but I got the feeling she was tryin' to play matchmaker too."

"Again, you don't seem offended."

"He's really sweet, Jane. But he doesn't seem interested in me anyway. And I'll be gone after the party."

Jane sighed softly. "And that's why he hasn't made a move. Because believe me, he's a bit sweet on you, dear."

Then she lifted up the coffee pot and yelled into the living room. "Dessert's ready!"

Jane's parting words made Cassandra's brain almost stop. She'd never had the world freeze like that. Damn it, why did it all have to become so complicated?

It shouldn't be complicated. She was fairly certain now, especially when Jacob smiled fondly at her when he entered the kitchen, that there was mutual attraction, maybe even a mutual crush, between them. But they'd kept everything professional. She was only going to be here, clippings book willing, until next weekend, then she'd be back to her life. It would be fine.

Wouldn't it?

* * *

Jane and Earl took the girls home so that Jake could take Cassandra back to her hotel. Jacob had a feeling that Jane had been doing some matchmaking while she had Cassandra alone, but he'd gotten past the point of being upset by that. Her heart was in the right place. He'd told himself it didn't matter, Cassandra had to get back to her job anyway, she'd stayed longer than she should have.

But it did make him wonder why she'd done that. She didn't have to. It wasn't what they were paying her for and she probably had gotten into trouble. He couldn't pay her for her assistance. All he could do was feed her occasionally. And enjoy how passionate she was about the project, more passionate than he was, if he was honest.

The store was his life, yes, his blood. But it had never been his heart and soul. But it was the life that he'd chosen. He'd say he'd had to do it, his family needed him after his dad died, he couldn't let his granddad down, he had three children to feed. But he knew they were just excuses in the end. He could have had the life he wanted, but instead this was the life he had. The only part that he didn't regret were his three little girls, he'd do that over and over again, even through the heartbreak that was their mother.

Cassandra had been quiet across the car and he noticed her face was tilted up to the sky. "Wow," she muttered.

"What's that?"

"Oh, I was admiring the stars," she said. "I'm a city girl and even when I'm out in the country I never seem to have time to look."

Jacob grinned and switched lanes, Cassandra looked at him when he took the upcoming exit which she knew wasn't for the next town.

"Just a little detour, don't worry," he said.

A little ways up on the right was a sign for a county park, it said closed at dusk.

"It's closed," Cassandra said, pointing out the obvious.

"The park is, but the parking lot is still open. We won't stay long enough to make the cops mad."

He pulled into the first spot and cut off the engine and lights. He pulled a folded blanket out of the back along with a flashlight and gestured to the door. "C'mon."

Cassandra still didn't know what he was doing, but she got out of the car. He spread the blanket over the hood of his car and jumped up, offering her a hand. That's when she got it and she giggled, joining him. He cut the flashlight as they settled back, looking up.

"Wow, it's breathtaking," Cassandra said.

"There's some light pollution from the road, I usually take the girls down a back road behind a farm to do this, but it's short notice."

"Still, it's amazing. Thank you."

"You said you're always too busy to enjoy things. I know the feeling."

"I like my job, I do. But I should take more time to slow down and enjoy it. I have a future now, I can savor it."

"Now?"

Cassandra suddenly realized what she'd said. Her history was common knowledge at the Library and with the few friends she had in New York, so she was used to casually referring to her tumor.

"I had a brain tumor. It developed when I was 15 and they didn't think there was any way to safely remove it. I lived longer than they predicted," she chuckled softly. "And then five years ago, I was lucky enough to meet a talented surgeon who had a new technique that was able to save my life. Just in the nick of time really."

"Wow, I guess something like that would give you a new perspective."

"You would think that, right? And I mean, I did take advantage of it. After I recovered, I switched careers. I'm really smart, a genius actually, but my health made college impossible. In fact, I had to get a GED because I had to drop out of high school," she sighed. "I took any job I could, just existing, for years. But then I met someone who took a chance on me, despite my lack of formal education. He knew I could do this job, that I had all the skills for it. And I love it," she smiled wistfully. "But there are days when I feel like I'm just killing time all over again."

Maybe it was because she shared something so intimate with him. Or because she couldn't see his face in the dark. Or because she was the first woman he'd met that hadn't known him most of his life. Or because she was leaving in a little over a week, but Jacob couldn't help speaking.

"I know a lot about killing time. I feel like I'm doin' that with the store."

Cassandra sat up next to him. "But . . . ."

"I want to save the store. That's not what . . . .When you were sick, did you feel like life was choosing itself for you?"

"Even before that," Cassandra said softly. "My parents had a life picked out for me. And when that didn't happen, they couldn't cope."

"When I was a little boy, I found out that I was special. My momma had dreams about me leavin' this town like she'd not gotten to. I loved art and history, still do. But my daddy died. And I was the man of the house, you know? So I decided that I had to take care of my family."

"Well, I mean that's admirable."

"It was an excuse. My momma would be the first person to say I didn't need to do that. But I got it into my head that I had to. And I was scared, too scared to be different. So though it ain't a secret about my brains, I don't exactly make it known either. And then before I knew it, I had kids of my own."

"Well taking care of them . . . ."

"Exactly. And them? They're my heart and soul. Nothing else is. Their mother may not have been the best choice, but I'd put myself through it again and again for them. They're everything. So that's why the store. It's not the life I wanted for them, but it's the life we've got and I can't lose it."

Cassandra leaned forward so she could see him in the dim light, her face inches from his. "Then I'll do everything in my power to make sure you don't."

He thought about kissing her right then, he wanted to. Cassandra Cillian was the sweetest damn thing he'd ever met. He leaned forward and she didn't pull away, she leaned closer.

Then a semi down on the road rumbled through loudly, breaking the moment. They both jumped back.

"We should probably get you back," he mumbled.

"Yeah, I gotta stop at the front desk, got a package," she said softly.

"Right."

Things were a bit awkward after that as Jacob turned around and got them back on the highway. Neither one knew exactly how to address the near kiss. Maybe it was better just to pretend it didn't happen.

"You can just drop me off here," Cassandra said as they pulled up to the front office. "I gotta stop in and get my mail."

"Alright, and you're okay for a ride tomorrow?"

She nodded. "Yes, I'll have a new car first thing. So I'll see you then? And thanks again for everything, Jacob. Dinner, the ride, the stars, the talk. Everything."

For just a fleeting second, Jacob thought again about moving forward and kissing her. But he fought the instinct. Instead, he simply said, "you're welcome," in as warm of a tone as he could. She nodded and he got what was left unspoken. The kiss had it happened might not have been regretted, but it was best to leave it where it was, just a bit of a moment. And they could move on just fine from there.

Though part of him didn't quite want to move on.

"Good night, Cassie."

"Night, Jacob."

Jacob did notice her looking at her phone as she went up to the office, but as she opened the door one of his favorite songs came on the radio, so he turned his attention to turning it up, not noticing the momentary flash of blue behind the glass.


	9. Chapter Seven

Jacob made a decision as he drove back home. There really was no need to discuss the near kiss. It had just been a moment in time. The setting was romantic and their conversation had been intimate. They were two adults who had a bit of an attraction for each other, it was chemistry and these things happened. Lord knows it had been five long years since he'd had any sort of romantic encounter and he did miss it. He was only human. But just because his body wanted something, didn't mean he had to follow it up. But that also didn't mean he couldn't enjoy Cassandra's company for the next few days. He craved adult companionship especially adult female companionship, even in a completely platonic way. The women in his life were all family, save for Mabel. And that had always been weird because way back before he and Mandy got serious, he'd had a drunken make out session (thank god it hadn't progressed to a one night stand, mostly because he'd passed out on her) with Mabel. He and Mandy had had a fight and he probably should have taken it as a sign. But it had made things awkward with Mabel for years and then after his divorce, she sometimes seemed interested and sometimes didn't want to give him the time of day.

Whatever it all was between them, he knew Mabel didn't want to just be a friend. Besides Mabel was moving on anyway.

Cassandra would only be around for a little while. It had an expiration date, so it wasn't like he could do anything. He had kids to think about, otherwise a little fling might have actually been appealing. That was odd, he'd not been interested in anything at all for years after Mandy.

Pretty redhead comes to town just in time for him to finally be getting over the hurt. She'd be leaving soon but maybe she had helped him with more than the business. Harvest festival time, maybe he would ask one of the girls who'd give him a smile to dance this year instead of staying on the sidelines.

Moving on. It was a good feeling. And he had Cassandra Cillian to thank for that.

* * *

She'd almost kissed him. Or he'd almost kissed her. It didn't matter. The setting was romantic, sitting in the dark with all of those stars, sharing what felt like a very intimate moment between them. She would have enjoyed kissing him, maybe they'd have laid down on the roof of the car and kissed for a while under the stars.

She shook herself. She needed to get a grip. She'd already stayed longer than she needed to. Getting involved with someone on a case was a bad idea anyway.

She should know, she'd done so a few times. Though two stood out, the two people she could have potentially found love with.

Estrella. Beautiful, loving, kind Estrella. They'd had a connection and an amazing few days together. But at the time, their commitments to their lives' work, the Library for Cassandra and her family's legacy for Estrella had meant they were not meant for more.

Norman. Intelligent, brave, kind Norman. Trapped by circumstances not of his making. Their time together was fleeting but their connection had been deep. But their attempts to right someone else's mistake turned catastrophic and he'd paid the ultimate price for it.

She honestly didn't regret the time she spent with either of them. But those experiences had made her a bit gun shy. Her life was a lonely one, however and she yearned for companionship, even if it was just for a little while. So she'd gone looking for a fling. Had a couple but that pursuit ended when the man she'd fooled around with in a London night club turned out to be THE Dorian Gray (and she'd nearly become of his victims).

Occasionally Eve or Ezekiel or even Flynn had tried setting her up with men or women but that never went anywhere.

Maybe she should just give it up all together. Jacob Stone wouldn't end up any better than any of the others. The poor man had been hurt enough. She wouldn't hurt him or his daughters. But she sure did enjoy his company, what was she going to do?

What would be the harm in being friendly for a few days? She missed having a friend. Ezekiel was a great assistant but most of the time she felt like he was speaking a different language. The age difference just confused her sometimes. Jenkins was the same way.

She and Flynn had been such great friends but he had a life now with Eve and she didn't see him that much anymore.

So friends it was. Maybe they could keep in touch after she had to go. She did want to know how Abby was doing, how the store was doing. He thought she lived in Oklahoma, maybe she could be "in the area" from time to time and see him. It would be fun. A friend.

The idea made her smile and she couldn't wait to see him again.

* * *

Jenkins had just shaken his head at her when she left that morning. Perhaps she shouldn't have told him about the whole having to rent a car thing. But she figured he'd be able to smooth things over with Charlene who was not going to be happy about an unnecessary rental expense.

She took advantage of having the car to stop at a bakery and pick up doughnuts and coffee.

"Morning, Ms. Cassandra," Andy, one of the store's clerks greeted her.

"Morning, Andy, could you give me a hand? I brought coffee and doughnuts."

"Sure thing!"

Cassandra laughed, it was easy to get help when it was food related.

He helped her get the food into the break room and said he'd spread the word. Cassandra grabbed a coffee and a doughnut and headed to Jacob's office.

"Good morning, Jacob," she said brightly.

Jacob looked up from his computer, blinking slightly, he'd been intending on reading his email but got sucked into reading an art journal article . . .which had lead to reading another and then looking at the digital content at a French art museum.

Ordinarily he would have quickly called up another website when Cassandra walked around the edge of the desk but for some reason he just left it. She beamed at him when she saw what was on the screen.

"I should have been workin'," he grinned sheepishly. "But that painting," he sighed. "It's always been one of my favorites."

"I get that way about science articles. Anyway, I brought you some coffee and a doughnut. There's more doughnuts in the break room."

"Why thank you," he grinned. "What's the occasion?"

"Everyone's working so hard and I thought you deserved a treat. And it's a little thank you for all the tea and cookies and dinner."

"Cassandra, about last night . . . ."

"Do we need to talk about it? Nothing happened."

"It's . . .Cassie, if we had kissed, I wouldn't have regretted it. But . . .and it's not like I don't like ya. Because I do, I like you. And if I was just a guy without a whole lot of baggage, I'd do something about it."

She nodded. "I kinda figured it was the baggage thing. I have mine too. And if it was just the two of us, maybe we can work that out. But you have three other people to think about. So I do understand."

Jacob sighed. "It didn't suck so much in my head."

"I really would like to be friends though. I don't have that many and . . . ."

"Me too. I mean . . .I really want an adult to talk to who's not family or an employee. And it's kinda nice to talk to someone who doesn't look at me like I'm crazy if I talk about something I'm really passionate about."

"Well, then, we have ten or so days, I've got a hotel room that I'm sick of looking at. How about we just spend some time together? Have fun. And you know, as my assistant says, it is the 21st century. We can email or text and when I'm in the area, I'll swing by and we'll have lunch sometimes."

"That sounds great, Cass."

"And now I have to go see if anyone has returned my emails," Cassandra said pulling her tablet out of her bag.

"Right, work."

* * *

They ate lunch at Jacob's desk and he told her about the painting he'd been so caught up in that morning. She couldn't tell him that she'd seen that painting in person just six months ago while she and Ezekiel were trying to rescue a kidnapped baby gargoyle. Even making up a story about it why she was there just didn't seem to mesh with her cover. Besides, even though she'd looked at it, she hadn't truly seen it, not the way Jacob did. She really wished there was some way she could get him there. He loved art, really truly loved art, yet he'd never seen any of these great works in person. Just from photographs in books and on the Internet. She knew for someone like him, it would never be quite enough just looking at a photograph.

Even though she knew she couldn't get him to France, what she could do was provide him with an audience. Jacob Stone just blossomed with an eager audience. Much as she'd actually liked quiet yet kind Jacob the shopkeeper, Jacob the art expert was an entirely different creature. He actually glowed, excitement and passion for his subject flowing through him. She'd attended many of Flynn's lectures and thought about how much those audiences would adore Jacob Stone. How could she arrange something like that for him?

 _Meddling. You're meddling_. Said a voice that sounded an awful lot like Jenkins. You are there to help the man with his business. Not with a career that he has no interest in.

Except she knew he did. But she knew that there was no way to tell him that he could still do right by his children and pursue his dreams at the same time. He just wouldn't believe her. He'd chosen this life and he was doing the best he could.

And if she was to be his friend, she had to support what he was doing, no matter what.

* * *

Cassandra was having a frustrating afternoon when the kids came in after school. She was basically playing a waiting game right now and it annoyed her to no end. She knew that even in her day job, sometimes she had to wait for information or results. She was a scientist after all, she was always conducting experiments and waiting for results. But her experiments were a hobby, so she could afford to be patient with them. Waiting for someone to get back to her about this event was not something she had time for. But there was nothing she could do. She could also not afford to annoy people she was hoping would do something for free.

"Are you okay Miss Cassandra?" little Abby said coming in, pronouncing her name so carefully like she always did.

"Oh, I am sweetie. I just can't do anything more right now to help your daddy with the big event and I'm a little upset that I can't do more."

"Would coloring help?" Abby said settling down at the table in Jacob's office that the girls did their homework on.

"Absolutely," Cassandra smiled.

Jacob came in a little later with Grace to find Abby coloring and Kaitlyn showing Cassandra some drawings she'd made.

"I know Daddy, but the science fair is this weekend. And I kinda sorta didn't actually do my project."

"Grace Alison Stone, how many times have I told you not to do that? You're too smart for that."

Grace shrugged. "I always get it done."

"Yeah at the last minute, because you're smart. But then you've gotta work twice as hard. Plus, we're all real busy right now. Is granny gonna help you again?"

"She's busy too," Grace looked really upset and a bit ashamed. "I guess I can't go to the drive-in tomorrow."

"I can help," Cassandra said from the table.

"You can?" Grace asked.

"I was kinda a science fair whiz when I was a kid, wall full of trophies . . ."Cassandra's voice went wistful for a moment, then she shook her head. "Anyway, what was your project?"

Grace told her and Cassandra nodded. "That's doable. But if you wanna go to the movie tomorrow, then you're gonna have to stick to the plan I'm gonna give you. I'll help, but you're doing most of the work. And maybe Kaitlyn or your daddy can help a little with the graphics. But I know you can do this Grace, your dad's right, you're smart."

Jacob had to go back into the store, but when he came back an hour later, he found Cassandra and his girls working intently. Kaitlyn was doing her homework, Abby was very carefully coloring in block letters that Kaitlyn had probably written spelling out Grace's name and her project title, Cassandra and Grace were sitting together, Grace asking her a question over the components of her science project scattered on the table.

A funny thing happened to Jacob's heart and he had to grab onto the doorframe for support. That was a picture of domesticity that he'd never seen. Five years ago, he'd given up the idea that he'd ever see that and if he was honest, he doubted Mandy would be helping Grace with a science fair project and encouraging Kaitlyn's drawings and coaxing Abby out of her shell. He'd known Cassandra for all of four days and she fit better in his life than any woman ever had.

Maybe, just maybe, his baggage wasn't so heavy. She'd said three very important things today. She'd said that if it was just the two of them they could have worked past that. When she'd brought up his children, she'd done it as acknowledging that the ball was in his court because he had them to consider, they were not a negative to her. And she'd expressed a willingness to keep in touch after she left, had wanted to maintain the friendship.

He'd promised to enjoy spending time with her these ten days. And he would. But on the day of the party, he planned to ask her if she'd think about something more. Cassandra had a job somewhere else, but she wasn't exactly a runner. Although maybe a little running would do him and girls some good.

She smiled up at him and when Grace asked if Cassandra could come over for dinner, they both said yes.


	10. Chapter Eight

We get very Hallmark movie in this chapter. Imagine the typical Hallmark movie love song montage for the beginning!

* * *

"I am really excited, I've never been to a drive-in," Cassandra said in the front seat of Jacob's car.

"Really?" the girls chorused, finding it very odd.

"Really," Cassandra said. "My parents were really strict. And when I was a grown up, well, not that I even had a car until a few years ago when I got this job."

"You didn't have a car?" Grace asked, her jaw dropping.

Cassandra giggled. "People don't drive in New York City, sweetheart."

"And drive-ins are a dyin' breed lots of places," Jacob offered. "We're lucky to still have the one we do."

"I've been to the movies though," Cassandra added with a laugh. "I love the popcorn, it just tastes different there."

"Popcorn's the best," Kaitlyn said and her sisters agreed with her.

They were soon all stocked up with popcorn and drinks. Each girl had her own kid sized popcorn and drink, Jacob explaining to Cassandra that otherwise the girls would fight over the shared popcorn.

"I'm willing to spend the extra money for peace and quiet," he'd laughed.

He and Cassandra decided to share a popcorn and she got a bottle of water and he a soda.

Jacob hadn't been on a date to the drive-in since he was in high school. Though obviously, this was not a date with Cassandra. And even if it was, there were three little chaperones in the back seat. But even so, there was something so cozy about Cassandra being there. She just fit. She fit him better than anyone he'd ever known. It might be because she'd seen glimpses of who he really was, as opposed to who people expected him to be based on his looks, his grammar and his accent. He was a small town boy from Oklahoma, always would be. But he was more than that and Cassandra saw right through him.

His children thought she was amazing. He was pretty sure it was because she didn't treat them like kids. She didn't treat them like adults exactly either, she just treated them like people. She didn't talk down to them or patronize them. But then, Cassandra was a genius too, so she understood how to talk to kids like she'd been. He wasn't sure about the iq levels on his children, he was sure Abby was in his range at least, but they were all gifted. Grace tended to be lazy, which is why her grades were pretty average. But he had a feeling she was bored like he'd been. He wished he had more time to devote to their learning, they all probably could use more than their little school could provide. But he just didn't.

As bright as his kids were though, they were still kids and they were absolutely enthralled with the animated feature they'd chosen to see. He and Cassandra on the other hand, were a bit less excited about it, though it had its moments.

No, his interest was more in the hints of a blush that crossed Cassandra's face when they'd bump hands in the popcorn bucket. Or how she leaned just a little bit toward him during the slower parts of the movie, closer and closer until she was resting her head on his shoulder, just a little bit. Still keeping contact to friendly levels, but really close to something else.

He'd say she was sending mixed messages but he realized she'd never said she wanted to just be friends. She'd firmly put the ball in his court. Which was probably wise from her perspective, given that he was the one with the kids. He had to make the decision to pursue her, she'd let her interest be known. She wanted to have some sort of a relationship with him, even if it was just friendship, she'd made that clear.

And he kinda wished now they were actually alone in the dark again. Because this time, he might just have kissed her instead of almost doing it.

* * *

They were celebrating Grace's second place science fair finish at Dairy Queen when Abby started to cry.

"What's the matter, darlin'?"Jacob said, hauling his youngest onto his lap.

"Cassie's gonna be going away next week," the little girl sniffled, her face turned into his shirt.

"But that doesn't mean you won't see me again," Cassandra said getting up and sitting next to Abby and Jacob. "I'll call and email, even video chat, okay? And when work sends me this way, I'll come and see you."

"And maybe some time we'll go to the capital and see her. What do you think of that, huh?"

Jacob was looking at Abby and so were her sisters, so none of them noticed the panicked look on Cassandra's face. By the time they looked back at her, she'd plastered on a smile. "I'd love that," she lied. _Well, I could probably fake something, meet them some place, tell them my apartment's being painted or something._

"Besides," Grace added. "We still have seven whole days with her, Abby. That's a long time!"

"Okay," Abby finally hiccupped before jumping at Cassandra in a big hug.

Cassandra gladly returned it. It was so weird. She'd never imagined herself in a life with children. So many factors had made that impossible or at least unlikely. But she fit right into this family. And like the Library, she felt like she belonged here.

 _What was she going to do_? She was starting to love them. _Starting to?_ She already loved the girls and she was falling in love with their father. But she loved the Library as well. How was she going to combine these two lives without breaking anyone's heart?

* * *

The next few days went by in a blur. Mabel had agreed to stay just until after the weekend event, which helped things out immensely. But Cassandra and Jacob spent most of the work days running around, moving things, returning phone calls, meeting with people.

They both enjoyed lunch break, which they usually spent in the little park behind the public library, talking about everything and anything. Neither one really understood the other's field but they just enjoyed listening to the other talk.

Cassandra and Jacob also took an afternoon break when the girls came in from school. Cassandra also ate dinner with them every night, usually at Jacob's house.

It was Thursday night and as usual, Cassandra drove her rental car to the hotel, knowing that the car would be the safest there. She was planning on dropping the car off at the rental agency tomorrow. The end was near for her time in Wahya, she couldn't delay returning to her life much longer. She was actually surprised she'd gotten away with it this long.

She stumbled through the Door back into the Library. She saw a familiar face, his feet propped up on his old desk, engrossed in a book, chair tilted back. He smiled at her when he saw her, putting the book down.

"Flynn!" Cassandra cried, running over to him for a hug. "What are you doing here?"

"Eve's having a girl's night and I thought it would be the perfect time to catch up with Cal and some reading. Thought I'd catch up with you, but Jenkins tells me you've been playing fairy godmother?"

"Something like that," Cassandra said and then filled Flynn in on the whole story.

"And you think that'll work?"

"The math says it will. But math can't completely take into account the human factor, so basically I've done all I can. I just hope it's enough."

"Well, I'm proud of you. Helping people is what we do. And not always with magical threats. But I'm sure you'll be glad to be back in the Library."

"Yeah," Cassandra sighed. "Back to being the Librarian, saving the world once a week, twice before Friday."

"Okay," Flynn said, jumping up and grabbing her hand. "Time for you to spill. And I've got a six pack in the fridge."

Instead of staying in the kitchen, they went into one of the Library's sitting rooms. They sat on opposite sides of the sofa, both drinking their beers, Flynn raising his eyebrows at her.

Finally she sighed and caved. "It's gotten personal."

"I figured. You and I, we both have a tendency to get personally involved. I dated a few women I met on cases, well," Flynn laughed. "I married the last one. And you've dated a few people as well, haven't you? Or at least had something with them."

"Dated wouldn't be the right word, but yes, something. It's just that normally on a case, the person I'm involved with knows who I am or at least has an idea. Estrella knew about the Librarians. Norman knew I worked with magic. In this situation, they don't know who I am, they think I'm a bookkeeper for the state."

"They?" Flynn raised his eyebrow again. "I thought you were helping out a man with his business? I assumed he was your interest. Though I mean . . . ."

Cassandra shook her head. "He is. Jacob's got three children and that makes them a package deal."

"Ohh, yikes, that's a completely different barrel of fish."

"I know," Cassandra groaned. "It's just, it started out me just wanting to help him. He was basically begging for help and so I helped. But then I met his youngest, Abby. And she's just . . .she's only 5 and her mother ran out on them when she was just a baby. So she's this little motherless thing and she was so shy. Jacob says he's never seen her take to anyone like she does me. And they're all . . . .Jacob's a genius and Abby probably is as well and the older two girls are gifted at the very least. They . . . ."

"They what?" Flynn prompted gently.

"They need me. And I love them. I love him, Flynn."

"Does he feel the same way?"

"I think so," Cassandra's eyes teared up. "I'm lying to him and I hate it. The other day Abby was upset because I was going to be leaving soon. Jacob tried to soothe her with a promise to come visit me! But they don't know I live in New York City. I mean, what am I going to do?"

"You need to tell him the truth, Cassandra."

"How do I do that? I don't even know where to begin."

Flynn shook his head. "That I can't answer for you. But if you love him and you want to be with him, you have to make a decision. Which life you want more."

"You gave up this life for love."

Flynn nodded. "In a way. Eve never asked me to give up this life just like I didn't ask her to give up hers. We could have made it work and were prepared to do so. But eventually we decided we were both ready to move to a new phase in our lives. You could have this and you could have your Jacob. But you have to tell him the truth, Cassandra. Let him make the decision."

Cassandra sighed. "I think I'm going to have to take a while to think it over. I have until Saturday. I'll tell him after the party. He might think I'm crazy . . . ."

"I've found that people are more understanding than you give them credit for." Flynn squeezed her hand. "Now if you'll excuse me, Cal wanted a workout before I go back to my lovely wife."

"Right, good night Flynn. And thank you."


	11. Chapter Nine

Cassandra couldn't say that she got a lot of sleep that night. She belonged in the Library. Most of her life had been lived from the outside, quite honestly, she'd never fit in, even before her tumor. She made herself fit into what her parents wanted, but that wasn't who she was. Then after she left them, she'd not fit in anywhere because of what turned out to be her uncontrolled magical gift. It was only in the Library that she'd found a home. The place where she belonged. She'd planned on spending the rest of her life serving the Library.

Until she'd stumbled into a family in Oklahoma. She fit there too. With an earnest man who loved his children like air and who had forced himself to fit into what the people he loved expected of him. He was surprisingly noble, Jacob Stone, like a knight from a fairy tale. Only instead of living an enchanted life, he worked hard trying to keep a family's legacy alive and raise his kids the best he could all alone. She'd seen his loneliness from the moment they'd met. If she was honest, she was sure that was what their initial connection was. The job of Librarian was an amazing, wonderful job that she didn't regret taking. But it was a lonely life.

She'd ached for Jacob and his children when they first met. Then they'd worked their way into her heart. She'd worked her way into theirs as well. The children were not subtle about their feelings for her. Grace was brave, reassuring her littlest sister that it would be okay, but Cassandra figured Grace remembered her mother's leaving better than the rest. She could see the hurt, even though the girl realized that Cassandra's goodbye was not forever.

Jacob was holding back, but she'd seen it in his eyes. The way he'd linger every night when they'd parted. She wasn't sure exactly why he was, but then again, he had a lot more baggage than she did. That and kids who had been through a lot.

But she made up her mind. She was going to tell him everything on Saturday night. He might think she was crazy, he might be angry with her and not want to see her again. But on the other hand, he seemed like the type that might just believe her. Whatever happened, it was time to tell him everything. She couldn't keep up the lies any longer.

* * *

She'd begged off dinner on Friday night, saying she was tired and had a lot of last minute things to do. It was the absolute truth. She was exhausted, it was strange all the running she had to do in her day job, yet planning this party took so much out of her. Plus she'd returned the car and it was a lot easier to slip out to use the Back Door from the store than it was Jacob's house.

The kids were a little upset, but she promised she'd see them all the next day.

"You sure you're gonna be okay?" Jake had asked.

"Why wouldn't I be?" she was perplexed.

"I don't know, you really seem tired. Sure you don't want to just leave your car and I can take you back to the hotel?"

"I'm fine, I promise. But thank you for worrying. I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Of course. Drive safe, okay?"

She gave into the impulse this time and hugged him as they parted. He stiffened briefly before pulling her in close. For a moment as they started to pull away, it looked like he might kiss her, but then they both remembered they were standing in the middle of the store.

"I'm just gonna go," she said, giggling awkwardly. "Night, Jacob."

"Right. Night, Cassie."

* * *

She was standing outside the store bright and early on Saturday, waiting for Jacob. She'd back doored via the public restroom on the square. Bathrooms were surprisingly frequent targets for the door, but they also didn't attract any real attention when people just appeared in them either. Course, no one noticed the times when she, Flynn and Ezekiel had stumbled out of port-a-potties either, so who really knew?

Jacob grinned as he walked up, carrying a tray with two coffees and a bag of bagels. "I had a feeling you'd be the first one here. Didn't see your car though."

"Oh, it's a different one, I got a deal to ferry it back to Oklahoma City," Cassandra lied.

"Right," Jacob sighed.

"Let's not think about that," Cassandra said, her tone upbeat. "Let's think party!"

He grinned back at her, her mood too joyous to really bring him down. Besides, he had plans to tell her how he felt tonight.

They went into his office and over breakfast went through the final checklist for the afternoon's party.

"Alright, so basically," Cassandra concluded. "You just need to pick up the cake. And I just made the last confirmation phone call, so that's the only thing left."

"Do you think this is going to work?" Jacob asked, as he joined her near the rolling whiteboard where they'd drawn up their lists.

Cassandra nodded. "I think it is. Or at least it'll help. Along with the changes we've made, I think you're gonna be able to keep the business going for at least another year, maybe more."

"I really, really don't know how to thank you Cassandra. Everything you've done . . . ."

Cassandra shrugged. "I'd say I was doing my job, but that's not really true. I really like helping people, true."

"I know you've gotten in trouble for staying so long," Jacob said, his voice going low. "And I know what you've done was not part of your job."

"I did. But it was worth it. I helped you. And I got to know you and the girls. Making friends with you? That was worth the trouble."

Jacob turned facing her, his eyes serious, searching for something in hers. She looked back at him, transfixed and then her eyes slid shut as his hand reached for her cheek. She felt a smile slide across his lips as they met hers. It was a gentle, seeking sort of kiss, but then it deepened when she sighed blissfully and parted her lips.

Finally need for air made them break apart and they beamed at each other as they took a few breaths.

"Cassie, I . . . ."

But Jacob's sentence wasn't finished as he could hear Mabel's voice calling his name. They'd stepped apart by the time Mabel popped her head in the room.

"Oh, there you are. Sorry. The guy from the bakery called. He really needs you to pick up that cake."

"Alright, I'll be there in 10."

Cassandra giggled as Mabel left. Jacob sighed and shook his head.

"Okay, I'll go pick up the cake. We'll talk though?"

"Yeah," she grinned. "About good things." Then she leaned forward and gave him a soft sweet kiss.

"Wow," Jake said parting from her. "I'll admit it's been a really long time, but you are a hell of a kisser Ms. Cillian. You make a man want to not go pick up a cake."

"Go!" she said, playfully.

* * *

Jacob had been gone for about ten minutes when Cassandra's phone rang. She froze when she saw the caller id. _No, no, no, no, magic had been quiet for weeks and now, today?_

"Hello, Jenkins," she said finally picking up the phone.

"It's about time," Jenkins huffed. "We had a situation and we need the Librarian."

"Can't it . . . ."

"No, it cannot wait, Ms. Cillian. We are talking life or death here. This is your job. I didn't say anything about your being gone so long before, but we had no crisis. We do now. I'll have a door for you in the broom closet in three minutes."

Jenkins hung up on her. Cassandra frowned, it had to be major, Jenkins was only that rude he was very worried.

Jacob was gone, the girls weren't coming until the party. She'd confirmed everything. She'd done all she could. She couldn't just leave though and who knows when she could call him.

She grabbed a piece of paper off of his desk and hastily wrote him a note.

 _Dear Jacob,_

 _I'm so so sorry to leave you like this. Right after you left I got a phone call. I have a family emergency to take care of and I don't know when I'll get the chance to call or text. Hopefully everything will go well with both the party and my family. I'll get in touch as soon as I can._

 _I really have to run, but Jacob -_

She could hear the door firing up. She had no more time.

 _All my love,_

 _Cassandra_

She folded the paper, wrote his name on it and propped it up on his desk. Then she ran for the door. As she did, the piece of paper blew off the desk and into a partly opened desk drawer.

* * *

"Cassie?" Jacob called her name as he looked around the office. He noticed the drawer but didn't see the note and pushed the drawer closed. Maybe he'd missed her downstairs.

It became pretty obvious though after looking everywhere for her and the party starting that Cassandra was gone.

There was no car with her rental agency's sticker in the parking lot. He tried calling her hotel, only to be told that there was no one with that name staying there.

He plastered on a smile when the party started and told the girls that Cassandra was not feeling well and had to go. Luckily the party distracted the girls enough to keep them from wanting to see her or make her get well cards.

The party went really well and he was exhausted. But the happiness that he might have gotten out of it was marred by Cassandra's absence. It felt hollow somehow even though he really was kept too busy to miss her. Or even check his phone until late. But there were no texts from her. Nothing at all.

It was surreal. He told himself that night that she had to have had a good reason. She certainly kissed him like someone sincere. She'd been teasing and happy when they parted. She wasn't the type to run out was she?

His calls went to voice mail all weekend and his texts went unanswered.

But his worry about her turned to fury on Monday morning.

He was in the store that morning, trying not to look at his phone and get some work done. Then a man with a briefcase walked in.

"Mr. Stone?"

"Yes sir, can I help you?"

"Hi, I'm so sorry that it's taken so long for me to get here. I'm Sam Denning from the Oklahoma Department of Commerce."

"Department of Commerce?" Jacob asked looking perplexed.

"Yes, from the grant you applied for? I'm here to look over your books."

"Someone was already here . . . ."Jacob looked at him strangely.

It was the man's turn to look confused. "I can assure you, Mr. Stone, that I'm the person assigned to your store. We didn't send anyone else out."

Jacob sighed. "I must have misunderstood. Come on back, we've made a series of changes, but maybe you can tell me if I'm on the right track. . . ."

She'd lied to him the whole time. Was her name even Cassandra? What was her game? He'd vowed after Mandy left to never let himself get treated like that again. Instead he'd let loneliness get the best of him. Never, ever again.

When he got a free moment, he blocked Cassandra's number. And that night, when the fury broke, he might have cried a little. The fantasy had ended and the rest of a lonely life going through the motions finally caught up with him. But that was the life he had and he'd have to deal with it come the dawn.

The girls were full of questions and all he said was that Cassandra was sick and went back home and he had no idea when she'd be back. Grace, being older and bright, knew there was more to the story than her father was telling. But she also knew her father and she could tell that Cassandra's very name upset him. Abby was upset too but Grace tried her best to keep her from bothering him. Abby was just little enough to believe that Cassandra was going to keep her promise and come back when she was well. Grace knew better. But she wanted to believe the fiction. If only because when Cassandra came back, her daddy would smile again.


	12. Chapter Ten

Jenkins wasn't exaggerating when he called the situation a matter of life and death. They all came close to death in this one, a very close call. Cassandra hadn't had a chance to even think about looking at her phone for three days and she spent almost the entirety of the fourth day sleeping. After a long hot shower, she checked her phone.

There were several messages and texts from Jacob. He sounded very worried. Then she remembered she told him she had a family emergency. That would explain the worry. She'd call him and tell him all was well now.

When she called she was sent straight to voicemail and she left a message. An hour went by and she tried texting him. There was no response. She went right to voicemail again when she tried to call him.

This went on for another day, calls straight to voicemail, texts never returned.

She was back in the Library, looking at her phone when Ezekiel came by.

"What are you doing?" he asked suddenly.

She jumped, then sheepishly put down the phone. "It's just Jacob. He left me a bunch of worried voice mails because I told him I had a family emergency. But now he's not responding to texts and every time I call it goes straight to voicemail."

"Uh-huh, does it only ring once?"

"Yeah, I thought his phone was off the first time."

"Sounds like he blocked your number."

"But why would he do that? Things were going really well. At least until the world almost ended."

"I'm just saying. Maybe things weren't going so well after all. You have a terrible track record, you know."

Cassandra flashed an angry glare his way and he raised his hands. "I'm sorry!"

She put her head in her hands. "I need to go there and talk to him. I made a decision about what I want to do about the future. I need to talk to him face to face. I just can't believe he blocked me. Maybe he just is upset because it took so long to call."

"Alright, where is this? Middle of Nowhere, Oklahoma?"

"Ezekiel . . . ."

"Yeah, yeah, hang on, I got it."

"Thanks!"

Ezekiel's dialing wasn't as good as Jenkins and she found herself coming out of a tool shed in a house right outside of downtown.

It was a longish walk but it gave her time to compose what she was going to say to Jacob in her head. She did smile as she pushed open the familiar doors and entered in the store. There was a woman she didn't recognize behind the counter, looking through a manual. She must be the replacement for Mabel. Well that was good that he was able to get someone so soon.

Jacob came out of the back room, talking to someone inside the office. "Thanks Sam, I'll just get that and you can be on your way. Cindy, I need you to . . . ." He trailed off as he looked at Cassandra. His eyes weren't soft and warm like they'd been since they met. No, these were cold and hard, heartbreak behind them.

She froze in place staring at him.

* * *

 _What the hell was she doing back here?_ He'd actually been able to come in this morning and not look for her waiting by the front door for him. He'd told himself over and over that he'd been an idiot and he was lucky they never went beyond a couple of kisses. Told himself that what he'd felt had been just loneliness and misguided attraction not love. If he'd told himself that often enough, maybe he'd believe it. And he thought he might just have, this morning.

And now she was back again. Reminding him that he could lie to himself all he wanted but the truth was he loved her. Not in the past tense. No, his love for her was very much a present tense thing.

And it made it hurt all the more.

 _Why was she here? Did she know he knew she lied to him?_

"Cindy, could you give Mr. Denning that blue binder behind ya?"

"Sure, no problem, Mr. Stone."

"New hire?" Cassandra asked as the girl left, trying to lighten up the tense mood.

"Why the hell are you here?" he asked her.

"I'm sorry?" she was confused by his anger.

"I asked a simple question, Ms. Cillian, if that's even your real name."

"Why wouldn't it be?" she asked as she followed him as he stomped over to the counter.

"Well, Ms. Cillian, inside my office is a certain Mr. Sam Denning from the Oklahoma Department of Commerce. So happens, they didn't send anyone out before him. Oh and also, he ain't ever heard of you."

"Oh . . . ." Cassandra winced.

"Yeah, oh. So who are you? Actually don't answer that. Just do me a favor and leave."

"Jacob, I mean, yes, you have the right to be upset about . . .and I can explain. You thought I was the bookkeeper and I didn't have the heart to say I wasn't. I didn't mean any harm, I just wanted to help."

"Fine," he seethed. "I reckon thinkin' about it that I never let you have a word edgewise. But you took off on me without a single word. And never returned my calls."

"I . . . you blocked me."

"Yeah, after I found out you were a fraud! You know what, just . . . ."

Jacob's rant at her was momentarily curtailed by Denning coming out of the office and giving him some paperwork to sign before he left. And before Jacob could get away and throw Cassandra out, his daughters came trooping in.

"Cassandra!" Abby yelled. "You came back!"

"Course I did," Cassandra said. "I promised I would."

There were hugs all around, but Jacob was glaring at her whenever Denning wasn't looking. When the man was gone, Jacob turned to his daughters.

"Grace, take your sisters into my office. I need to talk to Cassandra."

Grace inhaled sharply and took the other two into the office.

"How dare you?" he asked in a low threatening voice and Cassandra backed up a step.

But she tried to hold her ground. "I beg your pardon?"

"How dare you say that you kept a promise to my daughters? When you ran out on us?"

"I didn't! I had reasons. I . . . ."

"She ran out on us and I promised I would never ever put them through . . . .Just go, I can't do this right now."

"Jacob, please. I didn't run out on you. I mean I know I made so many mistakes. And I wasn't really straight with you. I want to tell you the truth right now, I planned on it." She was pleading but it couldn't be helped. She'd screwed up and it was obvious he hadn't gotten her note. And even if he had, the man had been left by his wife with a Dear John letter. How could she be so stupid? She should have sent a text or even called him before she left. Jacob was staring at her now and it was obvious that he was more hurt and disappointed than angry. But that didn't matter really.

"Not now," was all he said.

"I am so sorry. I have a reason for everything. I do. Jacob, if you believe nothing else, believe that I love you and I never meant to hurt you."

"Cass . . ."his voice broke and she could tell now how close to tears he was. "Cassandra. I just . . .please. Please just go. Let me go."

He closed his eyes, rested his elbows on the counter and let his face fall into his hands. He needed to keep it together, his mother-in-law was in the store, so were his employees. He couldn't break down, he just needed her to go.

He could hear Cassandra sniffling, holding back a sob, but he didn't open his eyes until he heard the door close.

Meanwhile in the office, Grace made sure Kaitlyn and Abby were busy coloring. She went over to her dad's desk to get a pen when she noticed a drawer open. She went to close it when it stuck on something. Puzzled, she leaned over and pulled the piece of paper out. It had her father's name written on it and when she read it, her eyes widened.

She ran out into the store, "Daddy! Where's Cassandra?"

"She's of no concern of ours anymore, Gracie."

"No, Daddy, Daddy, she left a note! It must have fallen. You have to read it. She loves you, Daddy. Please, you have to read it and stop her!"

"What?" But he took the note from Grace's hand and his heart stopped. Oh, God, poor Cassandra, something at home and he'd treated her like dirt.

"Your granny upstairs?"

Grace nodded.

"Okay, go up and let her know I'm going out and stay with your sisters."

Jacob ran out the door, looking around the parking lot. He didn't see any unfamiliar cars and he went out into the sidewalk in front. In the distance he could make out a bright floral skirt and red hair, as a woman walked briskly down the street.

 _Where was she going?_

"Cassie! Cassie!" he yelled after her but she had a long head start and she was walking quickly. It was windy, she might not have even heard him.

She went into a backyard of a house. That was weird enough, but then she opened the door to the tool shed behind the house.

"What on earth?" he sped up and ran through the door before it could swing shut behind her.

He felt like he'd tripped over a boulder. He landed on . . .a tile floor?

"Jacob?" Cassandra's voice broke over the fog from his hard landing.

"What the hell? Where am I?"

Cassandra looked up at the ceiling. "You let him in? I guess you're trying to help." She gave Jacob a hand up and when he got to his feet, she waved her hands around. "Welcome to the Library."

* * *

"You went into a tool shed and now we're in a library?"

"Yeah, pretty much. This is the truth, Jacob Stone. This is the Library and I'm the Librarian."

"The first day . . ."Jacob mused, still looking around. "You told me you were the Librarian. I thought . . . ."

"Yeah, it's a tiny bit of magic we use."

"Magic?"

"Magic is real, Jacob. I was in your store looking for the cigar store Indian. Inside, someone had hid a charm-stone, a magical item that I was collecting for the Library. The magic spell creates a logical cover story. In your case, apparently you wanted me to be the bookkeeper. Normally I would have left when you left me alone with that Indian. But I didn't. I stayed."

"I'm so confused," Jacob looked around, "I don't understand what you're saying. But I . . .can I sit down?"

"Yeah, go ahead, it's a lot to process." She pushed a chair out from behind a desk and he gratefully sat. "The Library let you in though, so it knows what I know. You're special, Jacob."

He looked around a little more, his confusion fading to awe. "I feel a little like . . .I feel at home here. Is that strange?"

Cassandra shook her head. "I felt as home here the minute I was brought here. It's the same feeling I got in your home too."

"I'm so so sorry, Cassie. Gracie found your note. I didn't get it, I thought you'd left without saying goodbye. And I sent all those texts that you didn't answer and then Denning showed up. But if I'd seen the note . . .I would have understood. I should have listened today."

"Oh, Jacob," Cassandra knelt down next to his chair. "I'm sorry too. I should have called you when I got the call from Jenkins. Mabel told me about how your wife left you with just a note. A note was a bad idea."

"Well, you had an emergency," he bit his lip, enlightenment starting to dawn. "But I'm starting to reckon it wasn't really family."

"No, not family, at least not in that sense," she said softly. "It was an emergency but it was literally life and death, fate of the world stuff." She shivered. "I came very close to dying."

"Oh Cassie," he put his arms around her and pulled her tight. "You went through all that and I was an ass to you."

"Stop please, it's alright. I lied to you. And that's worse than the miscommunication with the note."

"It doesn't matter," he said, pressing a kiss to her cheek. "I think I get why. And sweetheart, I love you too, you know."

"I know, or you wouldn't have been so mad. Or actually believe me right now."

"Well I kinda fell through a tool shed door into a library. That's a pretty convincing argument. And . . .it's like I've always known this place. Does that make sense? Like I've had dreams about it."

She nodded. "I felt the same way. Which is why I know I've made the right decision."

"Decision?"

At that moment, a young man came running into the room. "Ha!" he yelled loudly and tapped a case. Suddenly a sword floated up, making a humming noise. "I found you! You're it, Cal!"

He turned and ran and the sword zoomed behind him.

"Is that a flying sword?" Jake marveled. "You've got a flying sword?"

Cassandra laughed. "That's Excalibur."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah, he's a bit of a pet. And that was Ezekiel. He's my assistant right now but I . . ." she grinned as she saw an envelope suddenly appear on Ezekiel's end of the table, his name written across it. "I think he's going to be promoted to co-Librarian very soon. He claimed to be happy to be out of the line of fire, but I am pretty sure he's been itching to get a bit of the glory." She broke off at Jacob's slightly confused look and realized she was rambling a bit. She took a breath, "anyway, my predecessor Flynn gave me some advice recently. I thought I'd have to give this up to have a life with you."

Jacob's confusion faded and he shook his head. "Cassie, I can't ask you to do that."

"I know and that's why I love you. But he told me I didn't have to. But now there will be two Librarians and I'm thinking the Library has an assistant in mind. That door," she pointed at the door they fell through, "that door can take me anywhere in the world that has a door. Including your house. I can be in your life and still be the Librarian. That is, if you want me."

He pulled her up so she was sitting on his lap. "This is the part where I think you're crazy," Cassandra looked startled but he quickly added, "if you think I don't want you. I love you, Cassandra. And now that I know the truth, I want you to have both lives. Just tell me, is everything life and death?"

She shook her head. "No, there's often a lot of running. But most of the time it's in and out. Stuff like retrieving the stone that lead me to you. It helps to have more than one brain working. Which is why I was hired as an assistant and then we added Ezekiel. And while I know you have your day job, I think your brain would be a great asset here too. Even as a consultant. Ooh, I like that. So what do you think?"

"I think I just wanna kiss you."

Cassandra giggled. "I love you, Jacob."

He kissed her long and sweet and deep. Then he touched their foreheads together. "Show me around before I go back to the kids and give them the good news about us?"

"I'd be happy to. Welcome home, Jacob Stone."

* * *

This is the last chapter, it'll be followed by an epilogue which will be posted on Wednesday! Thanks for reading and for the reviews!


	13. Epilogue

_Five years later_

When the children had been first introduced to the Library, Jenkins had grumbled about it not being a playground. But as Cassandra had once said, Jenkins' bark was far worse than his bite. He warmed up to them fairly quickly, Abigail being his favorite. Within a year, Jacob was pulling them out of school as Cassandra, Jenkins and even Ezekiel could give them an education to envy. Their father too was reaping the rewards of having the art portfolios and the great art of the world just outside his door. He'd been writing for years but now with this added knowledge he was getting well deserved notice.

For two years, he'd continued to run the store as normal, going on occasional missions as an assistant but mostly serving as a consultant. Jacob had a knack for languages, Cassandra had discovered, and often he was texting her translations in between inventory or loading bags of feed onto trucks.

Three years ago, though, things changed drastically in both the Library and the Stones' lives. Six months after their wedding, Cassandra found out she was pregnant. About that same time, Mabel Collins had come back to town with her new husband. Who happened to be a Stone, a cousin of Jacob's who grew up in Tulsa. The couple had a knack for running the place and Mabel admitted though she'd loved soaring a bit, she'd discovered her passion was for the store. Jacob sold them majority ownership, started taking college classes and became an assistant in the Library.

Today was a special day. Jacob was graduating from college. He was a bit nervous standing in his suit, waiting for his family to gather so they could get to the ceremony. He rarely wore one, the last time had been his wedding day.

"Sorry Dad!" Grace yelled running through the room with a stack of scrolls. Now 15, she'd recently become a junior assistant, which mostly was a job involving fetching and carrying. "I have to get this stuff to Amy and then I'll finish getting ready."

Jacob sighed. "Fifteen minutes kiddo. Where is everyone?"

"Abby's helping Mr. Jenkins with an experiment. Kait had to change because Joey got into her paint."

"And Mom's gotta bathe Joey?" Jacob asked.

"Yep, never a dull moment!" Grace yelled running out again.

Cassandra walked in, in her second outfit of the day, their toddler son perched on her hip. "Kait's gonna be here in a moment."

"She needs to close the door, this one's a sneaky one." Jacob laughed tickling the boy and making him laugh.

Abigail came in then, "did Joey get up to no good again?"

"I was helpin'!" Joey exclaimed.

"Could you take him and make sure everything's okay with Kait? I got something I need to talk to your dad about."

"Sure," Abby smiled. "Come on trouble. But let's not help Kait too much, okay?"

Cassandra smiled and put her arms around her husband's neck, pulling him down for a kiss. "You look so handsome."

"Why thank you darlin'. But I reckon you wanted to tell me something? Or was that just an excuse to make out? Because I'm fine with that."

Cassandra giggled and kissed him again. Then she adjusted his tie. "Nope, I wanted to give you this." She handed him a white envelope, his name written across it.

He took it, looking a little perplexed. He didn't recognize the handwriting and Cassandra and their kids had given him cards already today. But maybe it was a congratulatory card from Flynn and his wife, he wasn't that familiar with his writing.

"Go on, open it," Cassandra said, bouncing a little.

He opened it and the words started magically appearing. He looked up at his wife, his mouth opening a little in shock.

"Is this what I think it is?"

She nodded. "I might have had a little discussion with the Library about you. I know you wanted to stay an assistant because of school and the kids. But it just feels right for you to become a Librarian, the three of us, you, me and Ezekiel. And the Library is in complete agreement or that letter wouldn't be in your hands. The Library ultimately chooses it's Librarians."

"Wow, I never really . . . I mean part of being an assistant was because of the kids. Joey's still little, Abby still needs me. And you, you're the Librarian. I'm just . . .I'm just me."

She nodded. "I know. But I think you were always meant to be a Librarian too. I think it wasn't a coincidence that I picked that case that lead me to you. The Library offered but it's totally up to you. So what do you say, Jacob? How about a shot at saving the world every week?" She smirked thinking of something Flynn had said to her once and altering it to their circumstances. "Twice before bedtime?"

Jacob laughed and kissed her. "Well when you put it that way, Mrs. Stone, how can I refuse?"

"Well that's settled then," she leaned over for another kiss, letting him pull her into his arms. About the time they could hear the commotion of their family coming back into the room. But over the din came another noise.

"Ooh, it's the clippings book," Grace said. "And Ezekiel's already in Switzerland."

Jacob let his forehead hit his wife's shoulder, groaning. "C'mon! I don't need to go to this ceremony but I wanted to!"

"Well, Librarian," Cassandra laughed. "It's part of the job." She broke the embrace looking excited. "Let's see what your first case is!"

Jacob just shook his head and chuckled. This was his life now and he wouldn't change it for anything. "After you, Librarian."

In Wahya, Oklahoma generations of Stones ran and continued to run the general store. And it came to pass that generations of Stones (as well as Carsens and Joneses) served the Library, saving the world every week, twice before bedtime.

The End

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Thank you everyone for reading! Hope you enjoyed it!


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